(Disclaimer: the following post may make you produce visuals you will not enjoy.)
I never thought that I would ever see a man walking down the street with an altered steering wheel pierced through his cheek. This was how our day began.
We woke up to the drumming sounds of a street procession outside. It was near the end so we didn't bother to peel our bodies up out of bed to see it. Each temple in Phuket has their own procession and we have the schedule so we knew this would not be our only chance. Instead we got ready and headed to a cafe for some good strong coffee. After our coffee and Aaron's birthday brownie were finished, a street procession (probably the same one) was working its way by the cafe. We went outside, sat on a stoop, and watched the people flow by. Mostly it consisted of large groups of people, wearing white, carrying colourful flags. However, every so often there was a man, who was in the midst of performing some act of self-mortification. We saw unimaginable things pierced through cheeks; from metal rods skewering foods, to the car steering wheel, to large swords. We also saw many men in the procession with large, narrow scars on their cheeks from years gone by. Aaron saw a man kneeling on the ground swinging a mace (a ball with nails sticking out of it) back and forth hitting his own back with it and another man with a knife drawing it back and forth upon his bloodied tongue. It was all very... gruesome. Yet, everyone was so calm and even those who were pierced were holding their projectiles and moving peacefully down the street with their entourage who was there to care for them.
Aaron and Magi's reaction was mostly awe. I'm much more squeamish and my stomach ached from seeing all that blood. I understand the purpose; they believe they are placing harm upon themselves to spare the town pain... but for an outsider it's hard to comprehend.
If you're interested in seeing some photos, I'm including a link to this website of a photographer's view of the festival. Some of the pictures are very graphic and close-up, be warned.
On to the rest of our day...
We hopped on a songthaew to Patong Beach but half way there we stopped at the Jungle Bungy Jump. Today is Aaron's 25th birthday and he wanted to celebrate by jumping off a platform 50 metres in the air. Sounded like fun. He was shaking nervous, but managed to pull it off gracefully. We sat and watched a few other people jump and played with the idea of jumping ourselves. At first Magi was dead set against going but I was feeling a little brave. Finally, we decided to jump.. tandem.
Everything was fine; the strapping of the ankles was okay, and even the little cage that pulls you up to 50 metres was fine. But when Magi and I had to hop over to the 2 foot wide platform from where we would then leap above a small body of water, I lost my nerve. To say the least. I wanted to cry like a wee baby! I almost did but the jump operator was looking me in the eye saying "Tell me you're ready, tell me you're ready!"
Magi turned into a brave soldier and without fear talked me back down to relative calmness. Then the dreaded words: "On the count of three... two... one... BUNGY!" I hugged on to Magi so tight and closed my eyes and screamed. Then, we must have leapt off the platform. I don't recall those few seconds. The first free fall is so scary and seems to last a long time. Then you bounce and freefall again, then you bounce and free fall again.... it really was great fun but I wouldn't do it again. I'm terrified of heights so I thought maybe this would be conquering my fear. Nope. I have been feeling the fear of standing on that platform all day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder.
We went to Patong Beach afterwards and played in the crashing surf. Aaron and Magi are so happy when they're in the water, they play games and we all toss each other about. It's a lot of fun for everyone. I was the partypooper today though because I stepped on something sharp and got two nice gashes in my big toe. I seem to be having not the best luck lately; yesterday I hit the top of my foot against a bamboo stick and had to pull out the much-bigger-than-a-splinter piece while blood started pooling. Good thing Aaron had his trusty first-aid kit. We also lost our camera to a waterfall yesterday. I can still see it plunging into the water in slow motion. We're not sure if it's salvagable but we can't turn it on or get it open and there's water in the display. We're not very optimistic.
As per Aaron's birthday request, we went to The Pizza Company for dinner. Large pizzas here are the equivalent of smalls at home so none of us are entirely full. We'll head out to the veg fest market again before bed. Magi has developed a rather unhealthy obsession with this one particular lady's unfried, made-before-your-eyes springrolls.
I want to mention one more thing. Yesterday we trekked out to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. It's concerned with reintroducing Gibbon apes to their natural habitat after they have been stolen from their mother (after killing her), sold as pets, and often used in bars to entertain patrons. It was really inspiring to see such a great project at work.
Happy Birthday Aaron! (though I can see you over there lip-syncing to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer- man this place has some good tunage!)
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
Sunday, October 06, 2002
no..make that 2 orders of vegetarian chicken feet please
What a great couple of days we have had. We're really enjoying our time at the festival. It is pretty amazing to enter a world where everything in sight can be devoured and where we are seeing so many new things! Being able to eat anything is obviously a luxury that you give up when you go veg so we have really forgotten what it's like to have such culinary freedom! But now, the streets are lined with all kinds of food vendors cooking up and dishing out a multitude of rice and noodle dishes with TVP or tofu, desserts, fresh fruits, and all kinds of delicious finger foods. And it's all totally veg so eating is absolutely brainless other than having to choose what stalls to eat from and whether to have dessert first, last, or instead of a main course!
Last night we went to the opening ceremony of the festival. It was simple, fairly short in length, and involved erecting a pole (which was a tree) covered in flags and gold leaf to invite the gods to the ceremony. We walked into the temple which was clouded with incense smoke, where everyone was in white (except for a few shameless tourists), and there were people going into trance-like states all around with the help of special priestesses who were waving flames all around them. Those already in trances were shouting in loud, quick bursts, making rapid hand gestures, dancing fanatically, and their eyes were shifting and uncontrolled. We kneeled down on the floor when the others did, stood when the others did, and cleared a path for those trancing when instructed to. Our eyes watered terribly from the heavy clouds of incense and eventually, we had to leave and watch the event from outside the temple (where we had a better view anyway). There were so many deafening firecrackers going off and we read that the louder they are, the better because they keep the evil spirits away. We all concurred after the fact that the whole event was pretty eerie and fantastic. We sat down at a food stall for a bite to eat and watched the hoards of people flood out of the temple. Then we talked about what event we would go to next!
Today we went to a Thai movie called "999-9999". We've seen trucks driving through town carrying a travelling billboard with the movie's ad painted on it and the trailer's sound blasting out of a loudspeaker. In Thai, the movie title sounds like "gow, gow, gow... gow, gow, gow, gow" and was played with a deep, scary voice and trembling music. So when Aaron went up to order the tickets he ordered them with that same voice and said "gow" all seven times. Oh what we find amusing! Anyway, it is a teen flick about a telephone number you can call to have any wish you want granted. There are all kinds of rules associated with the number and in the end you get your wish but also lose your life (always in a very brutal way). It was trashy entertainment and the plot was terribly flawed -we all enjoyed it immensely (in no small part due to the subzero temperature of the theatre)!
We really miss The Simpsons. We talk about different episodes and funny lines on a daily basis. One advance birthday request I have is that next time you write us or post in the guestbook, tell us which episode you last saw or just remind us of your favourite episode (if you watch it at all). Just so we can giggle about it. We're also spending some time wondering about Survivor this year since it was filmed right around where we are now. One of Aaron's friends sends us tempting emails hinting at the quality of this season's episodes. One other request is that if you watch it, don't be a spoiler!
Aaron's belly is rumbling (again). Who knew but the boy can EAT. Time to go.
Love,
k&m
Last night we went to the opening ceremony of the festival. It was simple, fairly short in length, and involved erecting a pole (which was a tree) covered in flags and gold leaf to invite the gods to the ceremony. We walked into the temple which was clouded with incense smoke, where everyone was in white (except for a few shameless tourists), and there were people going into trance-like states all around with the help of special priestesses who were waving flames all around them. Those already in trances were shouting in loud, quick bursts, making rapid hand gestures, dancing fanatically, and their eyes were shifting and uncontrolled. We kneeled down on the floor when the others did, stood when the others did, and cleared a path for those trancing when instructed to. Our eyes watered terribly from the heavy clouds of incense and eventually, we had to leave and watch the event from outside the temple (where we had a better view anyway). There were so many deafening firecrackers going off and we read that the louder they are, the better because they keep the evil spirits away. We all concurred after the fact that the whole event was pretty eerie and fantastic. We sat down at a food stall for a bite to eat and watched the hoards of people flood out of the temple. Then we talked about what event we would go to next!
Today we went to a Thai movie called "999-9999". We've seen trucks driving through town carrying a travelling billboard with the movie's ad painted on it and the trailer's sound blasting out of a loudspeaker. In Thai, the movie title sounds like "gow, gow, gow... gow, gow, gow, gow" and was played with a deep, scary voice and trembling music. So when Aaron went up to order the tickets he ordered them with that same voice and said "gow" all seven times. Oh what we find amusing! Anyway, it is a teen flick about a telephone number you can call to have any wish you want granted. There are all kinds of rules associated with the number and in the end you get your wish but also lose your life (always in a very brutal way). It was trashy entertainment and the plot was terribly flawed -we all enjoyed it immensely (in no small part due to the subzero temperature of the theatre)!
We really miss The Simpsons. We talk about different episodes and funny lines on a daily basis. One advance birthday request I have is that next time you write us or post in the guestbook, tell us which episode you last saw or just remind us of your favourite episode (if you watch it at all). Just so we can giggle about it. We're also spending some time wondering about Survivor this year since it was filmed right around where we are now. One of Aaron's friends sends us tempting emails hinting at the quality of this season's episodes. One other request is that if you watch it, don't be a spoiler!
Aaron's belly is rumbling (again). Who knew but the boy can EAT. Time to go.
Love,
k&m
Friday, October 04, 2002
the fire-walking, white-clothes wearing, tofu-eating party begins tomorrow
My goodness I'm posting a lot lately.... I just realized I'm somewhat of a chatterbox as of late. Well, as most of you head into the beginnings of winter, this is all just something to keep you thinking of warm, tropical places.
That brings me, and you, to Phuket ("poo-get"). We arrived here today after taking two of the standard government buses for a total of about five and a half hours . They differ from tourist buses in that they stop every, oh, 37 seconds to pick up the local crowd of military officers, school students, day trippers, next-town shoppers, and the odd weirdo who can't stop violently shaking his head. It's much more interesting than sitting amongst a large group of boisterous Israelis and stone-faced Germans (no offense, we are just using stereotypes to make a point). And it's a heck of a lot cheaper to boot.
The big annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins tomorrow but we've already had a sampling of what we're in for. Basically, I have a feeling it's going to be a big stuff-your-face-very-cheaply-and-love-it kind of week. I posted a list of the ten rules you're supposed to adhere to during the festival which all sounds a little weird if you think it's just a food-centred celebration. It gets even weirder when you find out that some of the more devoted participants in the festival pierce bamboo spears through their cheeks and walk through the street, walk on fire, bathe in hot oil, and climb ladders whose rungs are made of swords.
So what kind of crazy festival is this you ask? Well, this is what I have gathered from reading the broken English in the festival guide:
In 1825, a theatre troupe was travelling in the Phuket area. They all came down with a grave illness and to appease a couple of gods, they ate only vegetarian food for nine days and performed various acts of self-mortification for penance. After those nine days, the whole troupe was well again. They chalked it up to the diet they had maintained for that week and the acts they had performed and thus, the Vegetarian Festival began. The Festival is only celebrated by the Chinese community here (and us) and is held during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar every year. We're heading out tonight to get some white clothes for Aaron and Magi (I came well-prepared to participate.. I bought some white fisherman's pants last night).
tothesea,
k&m
That brings me, and you, to Phuket ("poo-get"). We arrived here today after taking two of the standard government buses for a total of about five and a half hours . They differ from tourist buses in that they stop every, oh, 37 seconds to pick up the local crowd of military officers, school students, day trippers, next-town shoppers, and the odd weirdo who can't stop violently shaking his head. It's much more interesting than sitting amongst a large group of boisterous Israelis and stone-faced Germans (no offense, we are just using stereotypes to make a point). And it's a heck of a lot cheaper to boot.
The big annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins tomorrow but we've already had a sampling of what we're in for. Basically, I have a feeling it's going to be a big stuff-your-face-very-cheaply-and-love-it kind of week. I posted a list of the ten rules you're supposed to adhere to during the festival which all sounds a little weird if you think it's just a food-centred celebration. It gets even weirder when you find out that some of the more devoted participants in the festival pierce bamboo spears through their cheeks and walk through the street, walk on fire, bathe in hot oil, and climb ladders whose rungs are made of swords.
So what kind of crazy festival is this you ask? Well, this is what I have gathered from reading the broken English in the festival guide:
In 1825, a theatre troupe was travelling in the Phuket area. They all came down with a grave illness and to appease a couple of gods, they ate only vegetarian food for nine days and performed various acts of self-mortification for penance. After those nine days, the whole troupe was well again. They chalked it up to the diet they had maintained for that week and the acts they had performed and thus, the Vegetarian Festival began. The Festival is only celebrated by the Chinese community here (and us) and is held during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar every year. We're heading out tonight to get some white clothes for Aaron and Magi (I came well-prepared to participate.. I bought some white fisherman's pants last night).
tothesea,
k&m
Thursday, October 03, 2002
losing our religion
We went against our better judgment today and did two things we're not proud of.
The first shameful thing we did was travel to Myanmar to renew our Thai tourist visas. We didn't want to go to Myanmar because of the political situation there. Supporting a military regime is not our idea of responsible tourism. But this is how it happened:
We were heading out of Ko Tao yesterday and the girl at the counter of the dive shop asked us where we were going next. We had planned to work our way down to Malaysia very quickly to cross the border by the time Aaron's visa expired on Saturday. It was going to be a long, arduous trip and quite expensive. She told us that we could much more easily get over to Myanmar in a matter of hours and get our visas processed there. You see, Canadians and Americans can travel without a visa to Thailand for 30 days. After that period you only have to dip into any neighbouring country briefly and then reenter Thailand in order to be allowed another 30 days. There is no limit to the amount of times you can do this and no minimum time you have to spend in another country before you reenter.
The procedure to get our new stamp went like this:
First we had to get in a songthaew to one of the town's piers. A songthaew (pronounced song-taow) is basically a pickup truck used as a taxi. In the bed of the pickup are two long benches facing one another with a shelter built above them. You hail one, discuss price and destination with the driver and then head along the route picking up anyone else (and their fruit and chickens) who wants to board it along the way. Once we were at the pier we had to fill out a form and get an exit stamp in our passport. Then we bought boat tickets for the 15 minute ferry that takes you across the border onto an island in Myanmar. However, it's not just a regular island since it houses only a five-star resort and casino. When you leave the ferry you are at the Myanmar immigration station where you leave your passport and proceed up to the resort by minibus. We had about an hour and a half to spend there and let me tell you, we didn't experience a single ounce of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) culture. We bought a package of Dutch chocolate at the duty-free and played a couple of shoot-em-up video games. That was the extent of our visit to Myanmar. We caught the minibus back down to the dock, collected our newly stamped passports, and rode back to Thailand on the boat. Then we had to go back to Thai immigration and get an entry stamp which grants us another 30 days. All in all we didn't really give anything to the government of Myanmar except the joy of our presence. We didn't have to pay to spend the time there and the island isn't really Burma anyway. It's just a deal the resort has with the government of Thailand to help out travellers like us who are going there for the new stamp in our passport.
Our second moment of shame today was getting a ride back into town with a seedy Kiwi (no pun intended). Who are we, lowly budget travellers, to turn down a free ride? Okay, the guy was more of a chunky creep and not so seedy. He was absolutely non-threatening but he had a Thai "girlfriend" with him who was barely half his age and still in braces. This brings up my biggest problem with some tourists here. So often you see these nasty western guys with women that they have hired to be their escort and tour guide (because I'm sure they are SO interested in the culture!) It's just pathetic. I won't even get into the issue of the sex trade industry because that would make this post rather depressing and heavy. Anyway, there we were barely attempting small talk with this guy while his lady friend sat quietly in the front seat enjoying the music that was blasting out of the stereo, the Backstreet Boys no less. It was really awkward and I was glad when we got out of there. He had offered us a free ride to our next destination since he was going that way anyway, but we declined. So at least we have a little bit of dignity left in us.
Thankfully, we're back in Ranong. It's a great little town with two vegetarian restaurant stalls (quite a surprise for this area). Our hotel is spotless and we even get fresh towels and soap everyday (this means a lot to budget travellers in Asia). But alas, it's back on the road tomorrow. A traveller's life is never dull (or at least we would have you think that).
tothesea,
k&m
The first shameful thing we did was travel to Myanmar to renew our Thai tourist visas. We didn't want to go to Myanmar because of the political situation there. Supporting a military regime is not our idea of responsible tourism. But this is how it happened:
We were heading out of Ko Tao yesterday and the girl at the counter of the dive shop asked us where we were going next. We had planned to work our way down to Malaysia very quickly to cross the border by the time Aaron's visa expired on Saturday. It was going to be a long, arduous trip and quite expensive. She told us that we could much more easily get over to Myanmar in a matter of hours and get our visas processed there. You see, Canadians and Americans can travel without a visa to Thailand for 30 days. After that period you only have to dip into any neighbouring country briefly and then reenter Thailand in order to be allowed another 30 days. There is no limit to the amount of times you can do this and no minimum time you have to spend in another country before you reenter.
The procedure to get our new stamp went like this:
First we had to get in a songthaew to one of the town's piers. A songthaew (pronounced song-taow) is basically a pickup truck used as a taxi. In the bed of the pickup are two long benches facing one another with a shelter built above them. You hail one, discuss price and destination with the driver and then head along the route picking up anyone else (and their fruit and chickens) who wants to board it along the way. Once we were at the pier we had to fill out a form and get an exit stamp in our passport. Then we bought boat tickets for the 15 minute ferry that takes you across the border onto an island in Myanmar. However, it's not just a regular island since it houses only a five-star resort and casino. When you leave the ferry you are at the Myanmar immigration station where you leave your passport and proceed up to the resort by minibus. We had about an hour and a half to spend there and let me tell you, we didn't experience a single ounce of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) culture. We bought a package of Dutch chocolate at the duty-free and played a couple of shoot-em-up video games. That was the extent of our visit to Myanmar. We caught the minibus back down to the dock, collected our newly stamped passports, and rode back to Thailand on the boat. Then we had to go back to Thai immigration and get an entry stamp which grants us another 30 days. All in all we didn't really give anything to the government of Myanmar except the joy of our presence. We didn't have to pay to spend the time there and the island isn't really Burma anyway. It's just a deal the resort has with the government of Thailand to help out travellers like us who are going there for the new stamp in our passport.
Our second moment of shame today was getting a ride back into town with a seedy Kiwi (no pun intended). Who are we, lowly budget travellers, to turn down a free ride? Okay, the guy was more of a chunky creep and not so seedy. He was absolutely non-threatening but he had a Thai "girlfriend" with him who was barely half his age and still in braces. This brings up my biggest problem with some tourists here. So often you see these nasty western guys with women that they have hired to be their escort and tour guide (because I'm sure they are SO interested in the culture!) It's just pathetic. I won't even get into the issue of the sex trade industry because that would make this post rather depressing and heavy. Anyway, there we were barely attempting small talk with this guy while his lady friend sat quietly in the front seat enjoying the music that was blasting out of the stereo, the Backstreet Boys no less. It was really awkward and I was glad when we got out of there. He had offered us a free ride to our next destination since he was going that way anyway, but we declined. So at least we have a little bit of dignity left in us.
Thankfully, we're back in Ranong. It's a great little town with two vegetarian restaurant stalls (quite a surprise for this area). Our hotel is spotless and we even get fresh towels and soap everyday (this means a lot to budget travellers in Asia). But alas, it's back on the road tomorrow. A traveller's life is never dull (or at least we would have you think that).
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
paradise left
We're now officially certified to dive anywhere in the world! It's pretty exciting to have that kind of license and we hope to make a few fun dives in other countries we're going to be stopping in along the way.
Our last two days of the course consisted of four deep dives to our maximum allowable depth of 18 metres. It wasn't all fun and games because we had a lot of skills left to demonstrate. Near the end of our second dive (at about 12 metres) we had to demonstrate that we could take out our regulators (the things that go in your mouth to provide the air) and breathe off of our "buddy"'s reg. We had demonstrated the same skill at about 3 metres so it shouldn't have been a problem. But I forgot the very important step of clearing out the water from the reg before sucking in. So, when I took air from Magi's reg I got a mouthful of water, couldn't figure out why, and then I panicked. I held my breathe (the most important rule of diving is to never hold your breath!) and tried to go up to the surface as I exhaled my last gasp of air. Jimmy held on to me and yelled something indecipherable then handed me the cleared reg. I sucked on that air like it was the best thing I had ever tasted and took about 10 deep breaths before I was feeling calm again. For a moment there I really felt like I was at the end, it was really scary. That sort of set the tone for the other dives we did, I was much more anxious while descending but that was all that went wrong. Magi had one of those lessons too, the kind you only have to do wrong once before learning never to do it that way again. You've probably got an idea of what a diver looks like when she steps off a boat. They take a long stride forward with one hand at their face holding their mask and reg on. Well, one part of that you can't see is that the vest you're wearing is full of air to keep you buoyant once you hit the water. Hence the name, it's called a BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. On our first entry, Magi forgot to put air in her BCD vest and plunged deeply with her really heavy scuba gear into the depths of the gulf of Thailand. When she got back to the surface of the water, she pledged her retirement from scuba forever. When she realized what she had done wrong, she felt much better and all the following entries were smooth and comfortable.
It's hard to put into words what it's like to be swimming along underwater watching the fishes and the coral and their environment simply exist. On one hand it's very peaceful and soothing to swim along in the relative quiet (when you breathe you sound a little like Darth Vader). On the other hand you have to remember to never stop inhaling and exhaling deeply and you have to continuously equalize your ears and try to remain neutrally buoyant so you can swim and so you don't disturb the underwater environment.
I think it must become much more of the former once you dive many dives. I'm so excited to have seen the fish we saw when we were out there. Just to name a few we saw blue spotted stingrays, clown fish, more barracudas, many schools of small tropical fishes, all kinds of coral and we were even attacked by a trigger fish. A triggerfish is a beautiful but big and territorial fish that isn't kind to strangers. We were warned about going into their space and knew that when Jimmy signaled a gun with his hand, he meant we were coming upon a trigger's home. Charlotte, a Brit from our group, didn't take kindly to this attack and went straight to the surface. Magi was quite scared I found out later but the rest of us were just kind of floating there, enjoying the art of the attack with our flippers out in front ready to protect ourselves. Eventually we worked our way out of trouble.
Everyday we were on Ko Tao the sun shined and both the wind and the water were warm. It was the closest thing to paradise that I have ever experienced. It was a very sad moment this morning to board the ferry and leave.
Tonight we're in the sleepy town of Ranong on the west coast. We arrived here today after taking a ferry from Ko Tao and then a minivan from Chumphon. We're only here for a few days before heading deeper south to Phuket.
Tomorrow is Emerson's FIRST birthday! Happy Birthday Cutie!
inthesea,
k&m
Our last two days of the course consisted of four deep dives to our maximum allowable depth of 18 metres. It wasn't all fun and games because we had a lot of skills left to demonstrate. Near the end of our second dive (at about 12 metres) we had to demonstrate that we could take out our regulators (the things that go in your mouth to provide the air) and breathe off of our "buddy"'s reg. We had demonstrated the same skill at about 3 metres so it shouldn't have been a problem. But I forgot the very important step of clearing out the water from the reg before sucking in. So, when I took air from Magi's reg I got a mouthful of water, couldn't figure out why, and then I panicked. I held my breathe (the most important rule of diving is to never hold your breath!) and tried to go up to the surface as I exhaled my last gasp of air. Jimmy held on to me and yelled something indecipherable then handed me the cleared reg. I sucked on that air like it was the best thing I had ever tasted and took about 10 deep breaths before I was feeling calm again. For a moment there I really felt like I was at the end, it was really scary. That sort of set the tone for the other dives we did, I was much more anxious while descending but that was all that went wrong. Magi had one of those lessons too, the kind you only have to do wrong once before learning never to do it that way again. You've probably got an idea of what a diver looks like when she steps off a boat. They take a long stride forward with one hand at their face holding their mask and reg on. Well, one part of that you can't see is that the vest you're wearing is full of air to keep you buoyant once you hit the water. Hence the name, it's called a BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. On our first entry, Magi forgot to put air in her BCD vest and plunged deeply with her really heavy scuba gear into the depths of the gulf of Thailand. When she got back to the surface of the water, she pledged her retirement from scuba forever. When she realized what she had done wrong, she felt much better and all the following entries were smooth and comfortable.
It's hard to put into words what it's like to be swimming along underwater watching the fishes and the coral and their environment simply exist. On one hand it's very peaceful and soothing to swim along in the relative quiet (when you breathe you sound a little like Darth Vader). On the other hand you have to remember to never stop inhaling and exhaling deeply and you have to continuously equalize your ears and try to remain neutrally buoyant so you can swim and so you don't disturb the underwater environment.
I think it must become much more of the former once you dive many dives. I'm so excited to have seen the fish we saw when we were out there. Just to name a few we saw blue spotted stingrays, clown fish, more barracudas, many schools of small tropical fishes, all kinds of coral and we were even attacked by a trigger fish. A triggerfish is a beautiful but big and territorial fish that isn't kind to strangers. We were warned about going into their space and knew that when Jimmy signaled a gun with his hand, he meant we were coming upon a trigger's home. Charlotte, a Brit from our group, didn't take kindly to this attack and went straight to the surface. Magi was quite scared I found out later but the rest of us were just kind of floating there, enjoying the art of the attack with our flippers out in front ready to protect ourselves. Eventually we worked our way out of trouble.
Everyday we were on Ko Tao the sun shined and both the wind and the water were warm. It was the closest thing to paradise that I have ever experienced. It was a very sad moment this morning to board the ferry and leave.
Tonight we're in the sleepy town of Ranong on the west coast. We arrived here today after taking a ferry from Ko Tao and then a minivan from Chumphon. We're only here for a few days before heading deeper south to Phuket.
Tomorrow is Emerson's FIRST birthday! Happy Birthday Cutie!
inthesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
They say you never forget the first time you breathe underwater. I did it for the first time yesterday and must say I agree wholeheartedly.
We arrived on Ko Tao a few days ago. The boatride over was nothing like we had expected. Silly me, I was expecting the overnight ferry would be like the one that you take when you ride over to Newfoundland- the big oceanliner type that would be complete with restaurants, sleeper berths with attached bathrooms, and a local band playing some tunes. Well, it was much more rudimentary than that. In fact, all it was was a small fishing boat full of supplies that were being shipped over to Ko Tao. There were no chairs, certainly no berths, and a hidden toilet that we didn't even bother to go looking for. For sleeping, you simply laid down on the semi-exposed wooden deck (there was overhead protection) with a mix of locals and tourists scattered around you and snooze. Thankfully, we made a couple of Swedish friends and played a few games of Yahtzee to pass some time on board while we were waiting for the boat to leave the dock (did you know the Swedes have different rules for Yahtzee?). The ride was only 6 hours and we arrived in Ko Tao at about 6 a.m. completely astounded by the fact that we had all slept really well and relieved that it hadn't rained. We went directly to Big Blue Diving which is one of about a hundred diving outfits on the island. It was simply a gut feeling we had and we went for it. Plus, we were not in the mood to spend the morning walking around with our backpacks on comparing the different places to dive. The price for the Open Water Diving Course is the same everywhere on the island so price wasn't an issue.
We began the course that same afternoon. It started with some forms to fill out. This is where I first realized that there may be a problem that I hadn't even considered. I often get severe ear and neck pain while descending in airplanes and on the medical questionnaire it asked if this was a problem. I had to consult with a doctor on staff who explained to me why this happens and told me that my sinus cavity wiring is probably not as fluid and wide as others who do not suffer this sort of pain while flying (he was much more technical). So, he showed me some methods of clearing my ears (equalizing) and I wasn't very successful at it. We decided I could try it out in the water and then decide if I could proceed. Today I had to really work on it but found that when the pressure is on, it's much easier to equalize though I still don't think I have the skill mastered.
Anyway, for those who think (as I kind of did) that to go diving you would only have to get an in-water explanation and then go looking for some fish underwater, I'm about to burst your bubble. That is the kind of training you would need for snorkeling but snorkeling is not scuba. Scuba diving, as we've learned, is really complex and you need to watch videos, have lectures, do practical instruction, and do homework that involves (gasp!) math and physics before you even get to try on your wetsuit and (extremely heavy) gear! So it wasn't until today that we actually got out in the water for a swim, though yesterday we were in the shallow water learning some of the initial skills. The swim was only a very short part of the day today though because we were mostly kneeling down on the ocean floor honing up some of our more advanced skills. It was really fascinating to be kneeling down on the ocean floor, I must say. We were next to huge mounds of coral that, if you stood up, would tower over you. We saw rainbows of different fish scoot by and were witness to five large barracudas! Our instructor Jimmy Wild (seriously, that's his name) is exactly how you might imagine a scuba instructor to be. He's American but darker than most of the locals, he has shoulder length sun-bleached hair and a large shark tattoo on his shoulder, he talks kind of like a surfer (dude) and he wears a Superman wetsuit. But he's super-serious about diving and has done thousands of dives all over the world.
Apart from that, Ko Tao is like a tropical paradise. At long last we have reached the elusive white sandy beaches with crystal blue water. It's incredibly beautiful here and cute, healthy dogs abound. It's easy to forget you're in Thailand since this place is a very newly developed island that has not one, but two, 7-11s. Plus, the food is expensive and for the most part, pretty bad by Thai standards. And don't be upset if you don't hear from me until early next week- the internet costs three times as much here as it does anywhere else we've been.
Tomorrow we do the first of our four big, deep dives. Tune in next time to find out how it went!
tothesea,
k&m
We arrived on Ko Tao a few days ago. The boatride over was nothing like we had expected. Silly me, I was expecting the overnight ferry would be like the one that you take when you ride over to Newfoundland- the big oceanliner type that would be complete with restaurants, sleeper berths with attached bathrooms, and a local band playing some tunes. Well, it was much more rudimentary than that. In fact, all it was was a small fishing boat full of supplies that were being shipped over to Ko Tao. There were no chairs, certainly no berths, and a hidden toilet that we didn't even bother to go looking for. For sleeping, you simply laid down on the semi-exposed wooden deck (there was overhead protection) with a mix of locals and tourists scattered around you and snooze. Thankfully, we made a couple of Swedish friends and played a few games of Yahtzee to pass some time on board while we were waiting for the boat to leave the dock (did you know the Swedes have different rules for Yahtzee?). The ride was only 6 hours and we arrived in Ko Tao at about 6 a.m. completely astounded by the fact that we had all slept really well and relieved that it hadn't rained. We went directly to Big Blue Diving which is one of about a hundred diving outfits on the island. It was simply a gut feeling we had and we went for it. Plus, we were not in the mood to spend the morning walking around with our backpacks on comparing the different places to dive. The price for the Open Water Diving Course is the same everywhere on the island so price wasn't an issue.
We began the course that same afternoon. It started with some forms to fill out. This is where I first realized that there may be a problem that I hadn't even considered. I often get severe ear and neck pain while descending in airplanes and on the medical questionnaire it asked if this was a problem. I had to consult with a doctor on staff who explained to me why this happens and told me that my sinus cavity wiring is probably not as fluid and wide as others who do not suffer this sort of pain while flying (he was much more technical). So, he showed me some methods of clearing my ears (equalizing) and I wasn't very successful at it. We decided I could try it out in the water and then decide if I could proceed. Today I had to really work on it but found that when the pressure is on, it's much easier to equalize though I still don't think I have the skill mastered.
Anyway, for those who think (as I kind of did) that to go diving you would only have to get an in-water explanation and then go looking for some fish underwater, I'm about to burst your bubble. That is the kind of training you would need for snorkeling but snorkeling is not scuba. Scuba diving, as we've learned, is really complex and you need to watch videos, have lectures, do practical instruction, and do homework that involves (gasp!) math and physics before you even get to try on your wetsuit and (extremely heavy) gear! So it wasn't until today that we actually got out in the water for a swim, though yesterday we were in the shallow water learning some of the initial skills. The swim was only a very short part of the day today though because we were mostly kneeling down on the ocean floor honing up some of our more advanced skills. It was really fascinating to be kneeling down on the ocean floor, I must say. We were next to huge mounds of coral that, if you stood up, would tower over you. We saw rainbows of different fish scoot by and were witness to five large barracudas! Our instructor Jimmy Wild (seriously, that's his name) is exactly how you might imagine a scuba instructor to be. He's American but darker than most of the locals, he has shoulder length sun-bleached hair and a large shark tattoo on his shoulder, he talks kind of like a surfer (dude) and he wears a Superman wetsuit. But he's super-serious about diving and has done thousands of dives all over the world.
Apart from that, Ko Tao is like a tropical paradise. At long last we have reached the elusive white sandy beaches with crystal blue water. It's incredibly beautiful here and cute, healthy dogs abound. It's easy to forget you're in Thailand since this place is a very newly developed island that has not one, but two, 7-11s. Plus, the food is expensive and for the most part, pretty bad by Thai standards. And don't be upset if you don't hear from me until early next week- the internet costs three times as much here as it does anywhere else we've been.
Tomorrow we do the first of our four big, deep dives. Tune in next time to find out how it went!
tothesea,
k&m
Thursday, September 26, 2002
fried chicken's feet and pig's intestines
Oh, I forgot to tell you the weirdest thing about that restaurant we ate at last night. It was also a small store and they had a big bag of vegetarian chicken feet for sale! They looked exactly like fried chicken feet but were just made of wheat gluten. We've seen "fake" meat, but this was taking it one step further. We really wanted to try one, but buying a bag that had at least 100 in it wasn't worth buying for a sample. Plus, it would be a little creepy to crunch down on something that looks like a chicken's foot when I wouldn't even have eaten that in my non-veg life.
So tonight we are in the small fishing village of Chumphon. It's where the south of Thailand officially begins. We took a dirt cheap third- class train here and arrived only a few hours ago. In our few hours here we bought ferry tickets, stocked up on film and ate two dinners (to make up for the lunch we didn't have). One of them was a simple pad thai dish at a night market food stall but the other was quite bizarre... it was a nice restaurant, probably the fanciest one in town. The menu consisted of ingredients from which you picked what you wanted including spices. There were some stomach wrenching ingredients there, like pig's intestines and chopped pork as a seasoning. We passed all that up and ordered the tofu and veggies. The ingredients all came on individual plates and then it was all tossed in a huge hot pot full of steaming broth in the middle of the table. No doubt we were doing just about everything wrong since some staff at the restaurant seemed to really get a kick out of our ways. Luckily, our waitress was a really sweet person and she made sure we were getting what we wanted plus it seemed like she was enjoying practising her English with us. In the end we were charged for water we didn't order (but drank) and ice that cost twice as much as the water. We had to just laugh it off. Overall, the meal was just okay, but the experience was very entertaining.
We have been expanding our Thai vocabulary on a daily basis and can now explain that we also don't eat eggs (it sounds like "my chai kai" and is easy to remember because all the words rhyme). Actually, we have found that this isn't really necessary in Asia since being vegetarian is widely understood as excluding eggs as well.. but it's fun to learn the phrases and have the locals actually understand us!
We are leaving at midnight for a five-hour ferry that will take us to Ko Tao or "Turtle Island" where we are going to take a diving course. We're so excited! It's one of the few things that is on my Definitely Must Do in Asia list. I find the underwater world so fascinating and I can't wait to see it up close for the first time.
That's all for tonight. I'm feeling quite burnt out and uninspired since it feels we really haven't had a break since we left Pai. I'm looking forward to spending several nights in one place and of course, to the diving!
tothesea,
k&m
So tonight we are in the small fishing village of Chumphon. It's where the south of Thailand officially begins. We took a dirt cheap third- class train here and arrived only a few hours ago. In our few hours here we bought ferry tickets, stocked up on film and ate two dinners (to make up for the lunch we didn't have). One of them was a simple pad thai dish at a night market food stall but the other was quite bizarre... it was a nice restaurant, probably the fanciest one in town. The menu consisted of ingredients from which you picked what you wanted including spices. There were some stomach wrenching ingredients there, like pig's intestines and chopped pork as a seasoning. We passed all that up and ordered the tofu and veggies. The ingredients all came on individual plates and then it was all tossed in a huge hot pot full of steaming broth in the middle of the table. No doubt we were doing just about everything wrong since some staff at the restaurant seemed to really get a kick out of our ways. Luckily, our waitress was a really sweet person and she made sure we were getting what we wanted plus it seemed like she was enjoying practising her English with us. In the end we were charged for water we didn't order (but drank) and ice that cost twice as much as the water. We had to just laugh it off. Overall, the meal was just okay, but the experience was very entertaining.
We have been expanding our Thai vocabulary on a daily basis and can now explain that we also don't eat eggs (it sounds like "my chai kai" and is easy to remember because all the words rhyme). Actually, we have found that this isn't really necessary in Asia since being vegetarian is widely understood as excluding eggs as well.. but it's fun to learn the phrases and have the locals actually understand us!
We are leaving at midnight for a five-hour ferry that will take us to Ko Tao or "Turtle Island" where we are going to take a diving course. We're so excited! It's one of the few things that is on my Definitely Must Do in Asia list. I find the underwater world so fascinating and I can't wait to see it up close for the first time.
That's all for tonight. I'm feeling quite burnt out and uninspired since it feels we really haven't had a break since we left Pai. I'm looking forward to spending several nights in one place and of course, to the diving!
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
kin jay please
We spent last night in Bangkok and hopped on a bus again this morning. In order to avoid another long night on a cramped bus, we have broken up the trip a little. We're not sure if this technique was a good one... we're in a small town that feels very small and for the first time in Thailand, I think we're the only foreigners around.
We asked at the guesthouse where we could "kin jay" or "eat vegetarian". The woman pointed us in the direction of a place that closed at 6 so we had ten minutes to run over there. We arrived and confirmed we were at the right place. A kindly older gentleman served us, and from what we could see the place was owned by him and his wife and their young son. With his broken English and our mangled Thai (there was no menu), we all managed to get a fried rice and tofu dish. It was decent... but already we are missing the multitude of veggie restaurants in Bangkok and the north. Who knows what the rest of the south will be like.
Tomorrow we're doing the one thing there is to do in this town- visit the wat. There are hundreds of stairs to climb before reaching the temple since it is perched high on a hill. Since we are (still) so close to the Myanmar border (only 12 kms away now), we can see the Myanmar mountains when we reach the temple. The best part is- we read that the temple is infested with monkeys. We saw it on the way into town and monkeys are even surrounding the base of the hill. We love monkey temples! Those characters are so much fun to watch. At the so-called monkey temple in Kathmandu we saw one walk up to an unsuspecting woman and steal her bag of popcorn right out of her hands! Everyone, including the victim, got a great giggle out of that. We hope to see similar antics tomorrow.
We're on our way to the beaches... and more specifically, Phuket. They have a vegetarian festival every year so naturally, we have to be there! This year it's being held from October 5th-15th and when I looked it up just now I also found this list of rules that are to be observed during the festival. They are:
10 RULES FOR THE VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils and use them separately from others who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Interesting!?
tothesea,
k&m
We asked at the guesthouse where we could "kin jay" or "eat vegetarian". The woman pointed us in the direction of a place that closed at 6 so we had ten minutes to run over there. We arrived and confirmed we were at the right place. A kindly older gentleman served us, and from what we could see the place was owned by him and his wife and their young son. With his broken English and our mangled Thai (there was no menu), we all managed to get a fried rice and tofu dish. It was decent... but already we are missing the multitude of veggie restaurants in Bangkok and the north. Who knows what the rest of the south will be like.
Tomorrow we're doing the one thing there is to do in this town- visit the wat. There are hundreds of stairs to climb before reaching the temple since it is perched high on a hill. Since we are (still) so close to the Myanmar border (only 12 kms away now), we can see the Myanmar mountains when we reach the temple. The best part is- we read that the temple is infested with monkeys. We saw it on the way into town and monkeys are even surrounding the base of the hill. We love monkey temples! Those characters are so much fun to watch. At the so-called monkey temple in Kathmandu we saw one walk up to an unsuspecting woman and steal her bag of popcorn right out of her hands! Everyone, including the victim, got a great giggle out of that. We hope to see similar antics tomorrow.
We're on our way to the beaches... and more specifically, Phuket. They have a vegetarian festival every year so naturally, we have to be there! This year it's being held from October 5th-15th and when I looked it up just now I also found this list of rules that are to be observed during the festival. They are:
10 RULES FOR THE VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils and use them separately from others who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual
Interesting!?
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 22, 2002
silver lightning and the scaredy cats
Another thrilling couple of days in Pai! Yesterday was an adventure and a half and I'm really only comfortable with half an adventure.
Yesterday we woke up to a drizzly sky and decided it would be a good day to rent some scooters. The ones that have motors in them. That's about the extent of my knowledge of them. We rented only two so that I wouldn't have to drive. Past experiences with shifting gears have me turned off that for good.
We had another two things on our agenda for our scooter day. We were going to make our way 50 kms out of town to explore some caves and then we were going to finish off our day at a waterfall. I was holding on to Magi really tight for the first 30 minutes of our trip, but then I started to loosen my grip and feel somewhat secure. We only made it a little less than halfway to the caves and the entire way we did make it was uphill. The further we climbed, the heavier the rain rained and the thicker the fog fogged. Aaron was long gone but we met him at the top of a hill at a police station/lookout where he was standing there, dripping wet under a gazebo talking to a British bloke. We had all decided that we had to wait out some of the rain or turn back and go straight to the waterfalls. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the fog was anywhere near lifting and with heavy hearts and broad smiles we made our way back the way we came, but this time it was all downhill.
Magi is a cautious creature and we made our way down the wet, steep mountain carefully and slowly. Aaron, the speedy devil, had a different idea of how the trip should transpire as he quickly flew out of sight like white lightening. (Actually, he is more silver than white without a shirt on.) As we rounded a corner, we saw a blob of red (his bike), green (his rain jacket), and silver (that Aaron skin) and that surprised us this time, because it wasn't moving. His bike was laying near a guardrail and he was standing next to it examining his hand with great interest looking for some proof of the 20 metre skid that he just had down the hill with the bike on top of him. His bum was muddy, his hands full of rocks, and his body was pretty shaky. In hindsight, we can all laugh about it but it was scary at the time- for me because it was only a few minutes before this that I was actually warming up to the idea of spending an extended amount of time on a scooter and for Aaron, for obvious reasons- he would have to spend another few precious baht on a new pair of pants!
Flashback to a few hours before when we were signing out our bikes. Aaron, Mr. Confident (a.k.a. Mr. No Consequences), wasn't going to pay the extra 30 baht for insurance. He figured that, although he had never actually ridden a motorized two-wheeled machine, he was pretty much a pro, even in the rain going up and down mountains. Magi and I, Ms. Cautious and Ms. Only Half an Adventure Please, had already decided that we were buying both the accident insurance and the theft insurance. With some coaxing, we convinced Aaron to splurge on the accident insurance and he, hesitantly, agreed to.
So, he messed the bike up in a big way but since I don't know the names of any parts of the machine (except the mesh basket in front) I won't go into describing the damage done. Soon after the wreck, Aaron's bike wouldn't start. Luckily, two Thai guys on a motorcycle, were whizzing up the hill and stopped to give us a hand. One of them walked over to the woods and grabbed a long, thick piece of bamboo and proceeded to whack it against the pedal of the bike. This worked like a charm and the bike was as good as new in no time (aside from the numerous cracks and scrapes that Aaron had created).
We were off to the waterfalls. But now, Aaron was just ahead of us instead of WAY ahead of us (at least for a little while). The road to the waterfalls was rough. Really rough. Gone were the smooth paved roads and they were replaced with a muddy, slippery, cracked mess of a path. It was dirtbiking without a dirtbike and Magi hadn't ever had experience with this kind of landscape... so after the bike slipped out from under us for the third time, I just got off and walked the rest of the way uphill (a few kms). The waterfall was nice, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was worth the trip up the path (and plus it was way too cold to go in). Plus the extra creepy feeling of passing through a traditional Thai village full of angry roosters, kids playing with rocks (we found out later they were shouting to Aaron that they loved him!), and opium dealers (there for the tourist who is stupid and thoughtless enough to buy).
Now that both bikes were totally out of gas, we made it into town (barely) by riding most of the way in neutral. I was glad to be back, glad to get off that bike.. but was left with a little dread in knowing that we still had our bikes until noon today and that Aaron and Magi wanted to wake up and go riding again.
We sat underneath the bright full moon in a gazebo overhanging the river while Aaron and Magi sipped down a mickey of moonshine that Aaron had bought the night before. We talked at length about the earlier incidents as Aaron struggled to get comfortable with a bum that was getting more achy every minute.
This morning, we woke up and rode straight to the hot springs that we had gone to a few days ago on our mountain bikes. The trip only took about 15 minutes compared to the hour that it took us using the weary strength of our legs. We made it there early enough to have the place to ourselves. By the time we soaked for a while, it was time to make our way back into town and return the bikes. We ate a delicious meal complete with that famous local coffee again and then headed here, to the internet cafe, to tell you all our stories.
Sadly, we leave Pai tomorrow.
love,
k&m
Yesterday we woke up to a drizzly sky and decided it would be a good day to rent some scooters. The ones that have motors in them. That's about the extent of my knowledge of them. We rented only two so that I wouldn't have to drive. Past experiences with shifting gears have me turned off that for good.
We had another two things on our agenda for our scooter day. We were going to make our way 50 kms out of town to explore some caves and then we were going to finish off our day at a waterfall. I was holding on to Magi really tight for the first 30 minutes of our trip, but then I started to loosen my grip and feel somewhat secure. We only made it a little less than halfway to the caves and the entire way we did make it was uphill. The further we climbed, the heavier the rain rained and the thicker the fog fogged. Aaron was long gone but we met him at the top of a hill at a police station/lookout where he was standing there, dripping wet under a gazebo talking to a British bloke. We had all decided that we had to wait out some of the rain or turn back and go straight to the waterfalls. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the fog was anywhere near lifting and with heavy hearts and broad smiles we made our way back the way we came, but this time it was all downhill.
Magi is a cautious creature and we made our way down the wet, steep mountain carefully and slowly. Aaron, the speedy devil, had a different idea of how the trip should transpire as he quickly flew out of sight like white lightening. (Actually, he is more silver than white without a shirt on.) As we rounded a corner, we saw a blob of red (his bike), green (his rain jacket), and silver (that Aaron skin) and that surprised us this time, because it wasn't moving. His bike was laying near a guardrail and he was standing next to it examining his hand with great interest looking for some proof of the 20 metre skid that he just had down the hill with the bike on top of him. His bum was muddy, his hands full of rocks, and his body was pretty shaky. In hindsight, we can all laugh about it but it was scary at the time- for me because it was only a few minutes before this that I was actually warming up to the idea of spending an extended amount of time on a scooter and for Aaron, for obvious reasons- he would have to spend another few precious baht on a new pair of pants!
Flashback to a few hours before when we were signing out our bikes. Aaron, Mr. Confident (a.k.a. Mr. No Consequences), wasn't going to pay the extra 30 baht for insurance. He figured that, although he had never actually ridden a motorized two-wheeled machine, he was pretty much a pro, even in the rain going up and down mountains. Magi and I, Ms. Cautious and Ms. Only Half an Adventure Please, had already decided that we were buying both the accident insurance and the theft insurance. With some coaxing, we convinced Aaron to splurge on the accident insurance and he, hesitantly, agreed to.
So, he messed the bike up in a big way but since I don't know the names of any parts of the machine (except the mesh basket in front) I won't go into describing the damage done. Soon after the wreck, Aaron's bike wouldn't start. Luckily, two Thai guys on a motorcycle, were whizzing up the hill and stopped to give us a hand. One of them walked over to the woods and grabbed a long, thick piece of bamboo and proceeded to whack it against the pedal of the bike. This worked like a charm and the bike was as good as new in no time (aside from the numerous cracks and scrapes that Aaron had created).
We were off to the waterfalls. But now, Aaron was just ahead of us instead of WAY ahead of us (at least for a little while). The road to the waterfalls was rough. Really rough. Gone were the smooth paved roads and they were replaced with a muddy, slippery, cracked mess of a path. It was dirtbiking without a dirtbike and Magi hadn't ever had experience with this kind of landscape... so after the bike slipped out from under us for the third time, I just got off and walked the rest of the way uphill (a few kms). The waterfall was nice, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it was worth the trip up the path (and plus it was way too cold to go in). Plus the extra creepy feeling of passing through a traditional Thai village full of angry roosters, kids playing with rocks (we found out later they were shouting to Aaron that they loved him!), and opium dealers (there for the tourist who is stupid and thoughtless enough to buy).
Now that both bikes were totally out of gas, we made it into town (barely) by riding most of the way in neutral. I was glad to be back, glad to get off that bike.. but was left with a little dread in knowing that we still had our bikes until noon today and that Aaron and Magi wanted to wake up and go riding again.
We sat underneath the bright full moon in a gazebo overhanging the river while Aaron and Magi sipped down a mickey of moonshine that Aaron had bought the night before. We talked at length about the earlier incidents as Aaron struggled to get comfortable with a bum that was getting more achy every minute.
This morning, we woke up and rode straight to the hot springs that we had gone to a few days ago on our mountain bikes. The trip only took about 15 minutes compared to the hour that it took us using the weary strength of our legs. We made it there early enough to have the place to ourselves. By the time we soaked for a while, it was time to make our way back into town and return the bikes. We ate a delicious meal complete with that famous local coffee again and then headed here, to the internet cafe, to tell you all our stories.
Sadly, we leave Pai tomorrow.
love,
k&m
Friday, September 20, 2002
when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pai
I'm sitting in an empty internet cafe flooded by flourescent light. The two young people working here are talking quite loudly while Thai heavy metal plays in the background. Outside it's warm and dark. Magi and Aaron are at a restaurant finishing up their red curry and pad thai dishes (complete with big, moist chunks of TVP if you fellow veggies can believe it!).... they're watching a movie there so I decided to leave them and come here. Those two are definite film-junkies!
We're in Pai (pronounced "pie"). It's a small village waaay up north and less than an hour's drive from the Myanmar border. Inhabitants up here are relatively few and far between so we feel, for the first time really, that we are in some sort of untouched land. Of course, travellers found this place a long time ago and the names of the restaurants show that the locals have caught on to making things cute to lure the bellies of hungry and thirsty farang (foreigners). Places to eat and drink are called such things as The Hiccup Bar and Krazy Kitchen. However, we did a little exploring outside of town today and saw some of the most lush and vibrantly green vistas; complete with palm trees, rolling hills, expansive rice fields, and rainbows. Really.
Our day started like any other, we slept in until the neighbourhood dogs started to get rowdy and woke us up. We showered and then walked around town to find a place that would suit our palate and our budgets. By this time it was nearly 1 pm so we decided to accomplish something and rent bicycles. For about a dollar, we have bikes for 25 hours and we were even given a map of special places to visit.
The trip we went on was a little over 20 kms. The first leg of our journey took us by an elephant "camp". We didn't go in but they were by the road in plain view so we stopped to admire the baby elephant (who was recently born in Myanmar) and see the life of the older ones. It's pretty tragic to see these animals tied by one foot with a 3 or 4 foot chain to a tree... all for the foreigners to come in and get an hour-long joy ride. I know these animals as being wise, intelligent creatures with a strong capacity for memory and it's terrible that they are taken from their land, their families, and imprisoned in that way. It's a shame that the hilltribe people are driven to do this to the animals of their country because they need money, and it's a shame that foreigners don't see past the hour they spend on an elephant's back. Similarly, we saw a man in Bangkok who was walking around a very urban, crowded market with a baby elephant. The idea is that you buy food from him and then feed it to his elephant. It's another tourist gig that foreigners get excited about and it keeps these guys in the business of stealing newborn elephants from their mothers and aunts and domesticating them. Argh!
Where was I?
It's hard to get my mind off of those elephants.
So we passed the camps along the road and after about 8 km we reached our first destination.... hot springs! At first we were kind of wondering what the draw for hot springs could possibly be in Thailand. I mean, sure, in Iceland and Canada hot springs provide relief from the terribly frosty temperatures you experience almost without a break. But Thailand is roasting and dry or roasting and wet all year round! We just had to see for ourselves and eventually discovered that bathing in a hot spring actually works to cool you down. We walked along the path to large, bubbling sulphur-smelling pools of blue-green water. Immediately we knew we were not going to be spending any amount of time bathing in them since even a slight touch with the fingers excited pain receptors! Eventually we worked our way downstream and found a few shallower spots where we could sit and enjoy the cooler-but-still-hot water. We lingered in the hot streams for about an hour while a cool drizzle fell on us and mosquitoes feasted heartily on Magi's blood. When it was time to go, we could hardly tear Aaron away and he kept finding new and nicer spots to soak in. But it was time to get back on the bikes and by that time, our bums were already sore!
After 2 kms of a pure uphill nightmare (but the scenery was gorgeous!) , we arrived at our second stop - Pai Canyon. What a view! It was as if we had temporarily left Thailand and stepped into the lushest landscape in South America. Immediately upon arrival, Aaron went exploring (Magi and I were still walking up the hill to get to the canyon). By the time we reached the top, he was barely in sight! He had walked a very narrow footpath with a steep slope on each side to reach the edge of the canyon. Magi felt brave and followed in his footsteps until she reached a very narrow part of the path and panicked in a moment of a real fear of heights (and she's not afraid of heights at all), she turned back and together we found a wider path to walk along the other crest of the canyon.
The last 10 km leg of our trip back to town was tough and it's a good thing we had our newly appointed personal trainer Aaron with us to give us some incentive to keep cycling. He didn't even break a sweat or breathe rapidly once (it was pretty sickening)- meanwhile Magi and I were walking up almost every hill that we came upon... they were really steep hills! The landscape we saw on this part of the journey was breathtaking (yeah, that's why we were out of breath!). The bubbly blue-grey, black, and white clouds hung over and around the bright green hills while blue patches of sky and sun rays peaked out from behind them... a thick rainbow formed above the vast fields that were dotted with villager's homes. It was straight out of a vivid, tropical dream.
We are staying in a small, wooden bungalow on the shore of a roaring river. It's our first time on our trip that we're sleeping under mosquito nets and I have to say, I enjoy it very much. There's a definite freedom you feel when you have an absolute mosquito-free space to linger in.
I haven't even begun to discuss our time in Chiang Mai. It was a much-too-short two days but we wanted to have extra time in Pai and we must be back in Bangkok by Tuesday morning to deal with passport and plane ticket issues. It's a shame we are rushing through Northern Thailand this time around but when we come back to this country we'll definitely spend more time up here. It's really a different world up here... one that has the lucky combination of friendly people, incredible landscape, and one of the best cuisines in the world (complete with delicious local coffee!).
Just for the record, Magi hears this alot : "You look like Thai people". We are beginning to wonder if there is a place in Asia we will visit where she won't be mistaken for a local! She even brazenly attempted to use her limited knowledge of Thai to begin bargaining with a man at a market in Chiang Mai. Prior to our trip to the market, we learned how to say two phrases (in addition to what we already know- hello and thank you).. and those two phrases were "How much?" and "Too much!". Thinking she would get a better price without the obvious farangs around (me and Aaron), we left her to bargain on her own. She made it as far as the first phrase but when the guy answered her in Thai and she didn't understand him her cover was blown! I guess we weren't thinking too far ahead when we learned only those two phrases and no numbers...
That's all for today. I still have a whole headfull of things to write... but I shall disgress. I hope you're all having a beautiful autumn. It's my very favourite season and I feel a little envious about all of you in North America who are enjoying it now. I think my body must be wondering how long this summer is going to last! I don't think I've ever been subject to these temperatures for this length of time.
tothesea,
k&m
We're in Pai (pronounced "pie"). It's a small village waaay up north and less than an hour's drive from the Myanmar border. Inhabitants up here are relatively few and far between so we feel, for the first time really, that we are in some sort of untouched land. Of course, travellers found this place a long time ago and the names of the restaurants show that the locals have caught on to making things cute to lure the bellies of hungry and thirsty farang (foreigners). Places to eat and drink are called such things as The Hiccup Bar and Krazy Kitchen. However, we did a little exploring outside of town today and saw some of the most lush and vibrantly green vistas; complete with palm trees, rolling hills, expansive rice fields, and rainbows. Really.
Our day started like any other, we slept in until the neighbourhood dogs started to get rowdy and woke us up. We showered and then walked around town to find a place that would suit our palate and our budgets. By this time it was nearly 1 pm so we decided to accomplish something and rent bicycles. For about a dollar, we have bikes for 25 hours and we were even given a map of special places to visit.
The trip we went on was a little over 20 kms. The first leg of our journey took us by an elephant "camp". We didn't go in but they were by the road in plain view so we stopped to admire the baby elephant (who was recently born in Myanmar) and see the life of the older ones. It's pretty tragic to see these animals tied by one foot with a 3 or 4 foot chain to a tree... all for the foreigners to come in and get an hour-long joy ride. I know these animals as being wise, intelligent creatures with a strong capacity for memory and it's terrible that they are taken from their land, their families, and imprisoned in that way. It's a shame that the hilltribe people are driven to do this to the animals of their country because they need money, and it's a shame that foreigners don't see past the hour they spend on an elephant's back. Similarly, we saw a man in Bangkok who was walking around a very urban, crowded market with a baby elephant. The idea is that you buy food from him and then feed it to his elephant. It's another tourist gig that foreigners get excited about and it keeps these guys in the business of stealing newborn elephants from their mothers and aunts and domesticating them. Argh!
Where was I?
It's hard to get my mind off of those elephants.
So we passed the camps along the road and after about 8 km we reached our first destination.... hot springs! At first we were kind of wondering what the draw for hot springs could possibly be in Thailand. I mean, sure, in Iceland and Canada hot springs provide relief from the terribly frosty temperatures you experience almost without a break. But Thailand is roasting and dry or roasting and wet all year round! We just had to see for ourselves and eventually discovered that bathing in a hot spring actually works to cool you down. We walked along the path to large, bubbling sulphur-smelling pools of blue-green water. Immediately we knew we were not going to be spending any amount of time bathing in them since even a slight touch with the fingers excited pain receptors! Eventually we worked our way downstream and found a few shallower spots where we could sit and enjoy the cooler-but-still-hot water. We lingered in the hot streams for about an hour while a cool drizzle fell on us and mosquitoes feasted heartily on Magi's blood. When it was time to go, we could hardly tear Aaron away and he kept finding new and nicer spots to soak in. But it was time to get back on the bikes and by that time, our bums were already sore!
After 2 kms of a pure uphill nightmare (but the scenery was gorgeous!) , we arrived at our second stop - Pai Canyon. What a view! It was as if we had temporarily left Thailand and stepped into the lushest landscape in South America. Immediately upon arrival, Aaron went exploring (Magi and I were still walking up the hill to get to the canyon). By the time we reached the top, he was barely in sight! He had walked a very narrow footpath with a steep slope on each side to reach the edge of the canyon. Magi felt brave and followed in his footsteps until she reached a very narrow part of the path and panicked in a moment of a real fear of heights (and she's not afraid of heights at all), she turned back and together we found a wider path to walk along the other crest of the canyon.
The last 10 km leg of our trip back to town was tough and it's a good thing we had our newly appointed personal trainer Aaron with us to give us some incentive to keep cycling. He didn't even break a sweat or breathe rapidly once (it was pretty sickening)- meanwhile Magi and I were walking up almost every hill that we came upon... they were really steep hills! The landscape we saw on this part of the journey was breathtaking (yeah, that's why we were out of breath!). The bubbly blue-grey, black, and white clouds hung over and around the bright green hills while blue patches of sky and sun rays peaked out from behind them... a thick rainbow formed above the vast fields that were dotted with villager's homes. It was straight out of a vivid, tropical dream.
We are staying in a small, wooden bungalow on the shore of a roaring river. It's our first time on our trip that we're sleeping under mosquito nets and I have to say, I enjoy it very much. There's a definite freedom you feel when you have an absolute mosquito-free space to linger in.
I haven't even begun to discuss our time in Chiang Mai. It was a much-too-short two days but we wanted to have extra time in Pai and we must be back in Bangkok by Tuesday morning to deal with passport and plane ticket issues. It's a shame we are rushing through Northern Thailand this time around but when we come back to this country we'll definitely spend more time up here. It's really a different world up here... one that has the lucky combination of friendly people, incredible landscape, and one of the best cuisines in the world (complete with delicious local coffee!).
Just for the record, Magi hears this alot : "You look like Thai people". We are beginning to wonder if there is a place in Asia we will visit where she won't be mistaken for a local! She even brazenly attempted to use her limited knowledge of Thai to begin bargaining with a man at a market in Chiang Mai. Prior to our trip to the market, we learned how to say two phrases (in addition to what we already know- hello and thank you).. and those two phrases were "How much?" and "Too much!". Thinking she would get a better price without the obvious farangs around (me and Aaron), we left her to bargain on her own. She made it as far as the first phrase but when the guy answered her in Thai and she didn't understand him her cover was blown! I guess we weren't thinking too far ahead when we learned only those two phrases and no numbers...
That's all for today. I still have a whole headfull of things to write... but I shall disgress. I hope you're all having a beautiful autumn. It's my very favourite season and I feel a little envious about all of you in North America who are enjoying it now. I think my body must be wondering how long this summer is going to last! I don't think I've ever been subject to these temperatures for this length of time.
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, September 16, 2002
our first few days in thailand
Perhaps we shouldn't be as surprised as we are that Thailand is so different from Nepal and India. But it's hard to spend all that time experiencing life in the subcontinent and then hop on a plane and a few hours later still be in Asia, but have it be a completely new experience.
Thailand is much more developed than the subcontinent. As soon as we entered the Bangkok airport we knew we were in for a treat. The taxi ride was quiet (no honking), peaceful (drivers stayed in distinct lanes), cool (a/c), smooth (new pavement!), and the city was developed and there was much less poverty than anywhere we'd been. I felt like we were back in Europe.
Of course, now we have been around the city and know that Bangkok doesn't really resemble the west as much as we first thought. We have explored some frantically paced markets, had the most delicious meals for less than a dollar, seen roasted scorpions for sale as a snack, and been to some amazingly ornamented wats (temples) that have all added to the very distinct feeling of Bangkok. It's a great city, a vibrant city and a city where we don't automatically want to scream, "Let's get out of here!"
Having Aaron here has added immensely to our enjoyment. It's almost like having a local showing us around. He knows where to go to get the best sticky rice with custard and papaya for breakfast, he recommends wats that left the with him biggest impression (you have to see the size of that reclining Buddha!), he's great company, and he has found a unique Thai home to stay at for very few baht a night. It's more communal than we are used to but we are enjoying it there. Everyone in the house shares one bathroom but surprisingly, there is rarely a wait to get in. Sometimes there will be a Bob Dylan- Beatlesesque sing-a-long jamboree in the evening when Tu plucks his sitar and some Americans, Aussies, Canadians, and/or Europeans plays the guitar and bongos. Yet surprisingly, you hardly hear a peep in the house after 10 pm. Everyone is pretty respectful and very quiet of one another's sleeping time and personal space.
We have several weeks to explore Thailand, by far the longest time we'll have in any country on our trip. We're going to head up north first before returning to Bangkok and then heading to the renowned (and hopefully some secret!) beaches in the south. Stay tuned.
We have finally reached the SEA...South-East Asia.
fromthesea,
k&m
Thailand is much more developed than the subcontinent. As soon as we entered the Bangkok airport we knew we were in for a treat. The taxi ride was quiet (no honking), peaceful (drivers stayed in distinct lanes), cool (a/c), smooth (new pavement!), and the city was developed and there was much less poverty than anywhere we'd been. I felt like we were back in Europe.
Of course, now we have been around the city and know that Bangkok doesn't really resemble the west as much as we first thought. We have explored some frantically paced markets, had the most delicious meals for less than a dollar, seen roasted scorpions for sale as a snack, and been to some amazingly ornamented wats (temples) that have all added to the very distinct feeling of Bangkok. It's a great city, a vibrant city and a city where we don't automatically want to scream, "Let's get out of here!"
Having Aaron here has added immensely to our enjoyment. It's almost like having a local showing us around. He knows where to go to get the best sticky rice with custard and papaya for breakfast, he recommends wats that left the with him biggest impression (you have to see the size of that reclining Buddha!), he's great company, and he has found a unique Thai home to stay at for very few baht a night. It's more communal than we are used to but we are enjoying it there. Everyone in the house shares one bathroom but surprisingly, there is rarely a wait to get in. Sometimes there will be a Bob Dylan- Beatlesesque sing-a-long jamboree in the evening when Tu plucks his sitar and some Americans, Aussies, Canadians, and/or Europeans plays the guitar and bongos. Yet surprisingly, you hardly hear a peep in the house after 10 pm. Everyone is pretty respectful and very quiet of one another's sleeping time and personal space.
We have several weeks to explore Thailand, by far the longest time we'll have in any country on our trip. We're going to head up north first before returning to Bangkok and then heading to the renowned (and hopefully some secret!) beaches in the south. Stay tuned.
We have finally reached the SEA...South-East Asia.
fromthesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 08, 2002
to typhoid and back... almost
We had to cancel our trek at the last minute. I had a very rough night on Thursday because I was sleeping very little and feeling achy and sore. When it was time to get out of bed in the morning I was trying to convince myself that the soreness was coming from the yoga we had done the day before. We were the only two in the class and for two hours, the yogi stretched and pulled us in directions our bodies were clearly not ready to go in. I attributed the sick feelings to lack of sleep the night before. Basically, I was trying to convince myself that I was okay for the trek. I knew that trying to cancel it only one hour before the sherpa was supposed to pick us up was going to be a real nuisance.
I went into the bathroom and sat on the floor. I was very hot and the cool tiles provided me some relief. When Magi woke up we talked about how I was feeling and she insisted that we call the trek off and go see a doctor. It was a decision I needed her to make as I was still telling myself that I could probably go ahead and trek anyway. Looking back now I realize how stupid that was.
Magi took care of cancelling the trek and a couple of hours later (after a nap), we walked about 20 metres down the street to a clinic for Western travellers (the doc had even practised in Calgary for a few years). I laid down on the clinic bed and felt a tremendous sense of relief just to be laying down once again and to be on my way to finding out what was wrong. I was given an injection in my bum to loosen my tight muscles and ease the pain. They took blood and urine samples to run tests. I was sent home with three bags of drugs and the whole visit, complete with drugs, cost about US$105. It's not a tremendous amount of money, but I'll be glad to recoup it with my medical insurance that, in hindsight, I'm very glad I came with.
Under orders to rest for the remainder of the day, I gladly obliged and looked forward to every horizontal moment ahead of me. I had to wait until Sunday (today) for the diagnosis. Yesterday was a very long and anxious day.
I found out this morning that I have a urinary tract infection and a mild case of typhoid fever. Now for the gross part. Typhoid is "passed in the feces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by feces from the infected individual." Disgusting.
Dr. Shah told me the drugs he gave me will take care of both of these problems and that I should feel a marked improvement by the end of today. I'm already feeling much better than I was on Friday and yesterday wasn't too bad either, though moments of feverish confusion still occur. I would have expected something as serious as typhoid fever to feel a lot worse than it does. Oh, the wonders of modern medicine!
I don't think I could have prevented the urinary tract infection. They are not uncommon for women travelling through these parts of the world. I did what I could to prevent typhoid. I had the innoculation prior to the trip... but the doctor said no innoculation is 100% effective... and I tried to eat and drink safe foods. Goes to show, you never know. Thinking back, I cannot pinpoint any occasion where I threw caution to the wind and ate or drank carelessly. But Magi has just reminded me that eating just about any meal in India is throwing (some) caution to the wind. I'm pretty sure I must have contracted typhoid in India because Kathmandu is so touristy and the restaurants are much cleaner than most places we ate in India. Also, it takes 1-3 weeks for the fever to manifest itself and that puts me in India at the time of contamination.
We're sad we had to cancel our only chance to see the countryside and something other than Kathmandu. On the other hand, I keep thinking about what an event it would have been to have had me airlifted to a hospital during the trek.
I go for a check-up on Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday for Bangkok. As usual, we'll keep you posted.
tothesea,
k&m
I went into the bathroom and sat on the floor. I was very hot and the cool tiles provided me some relief. When Magi woke up we talked about how I was feeling and she insisted that we call the trek off and go see a doctor. It was a decision I needed her to make as I was still telling myself that I could probably go ahead and trek anyway. Looking back now I realize how stupid that was.
Magi took care of cancelling the trek and a couple of hours later (after a nap), we walked about 20 metres down the street to a clinic for Western travellers (the doc had even practised in Calgary for a few years). I laid down on the clinic bed and felt a tremendous sense of relief just to be laying down once again and to be on my way to finding out what was wrong. I was given an injection in my bum to loosen my tight muscles and ease the pain. They took blood and urine samples to run tests. I was sent home with three bags of drugs and the whole visit, complete with drugs, cost about US$105. It's not a tremendous amount of money, but I'll be glad to recoup it with my medical insurance that, in hindsight, I'm very glad I came with.
Under orders to rest for the remainder of the day, I gladly obliged and looked forward to every horizontal moment ahead of me. I had to wait until Sunday (today) for the diagnosis. Yesterday was a very long and anxious day.
I found out this morning that I have a urinary tract infection and a mild case of typhoid fever. Now for the gross part. Typhoid is "passed in the feces and, to some extent, the urine of infected people. The germs are spread by eating or drinking water or foods contaminated by feces from the infected individual." Disgusting.
Dr. Shah told me the drugs he gave me will take care of both of these problems and that I should feel a marked improvement by the end of today. I'm already feeling much better than I was on Friday and yesterday wasn't too bad either, though moments of feverish confusion still occur. I would have expected something as serious as typhoid fever to feel a lot worse than it does. Oh, the wonders of modern medicine!
I don't think I could have prevented the urinary tract infection. They are not uncommon for women travelling through these parts of the world. I did what I could to prevent typhoid. I had the innoculation prior to the trip... but the doctor said no innoculation is 100% effective... and I tried to eat and drink safe foods. Goes to show, you never know. Thinking back, I cannot pinpoint any occasion where I threw caution to the wind and ate or drank carelessly. But Magi has just reminded me that eating just about any meal in India is throwing (some) caution to the wind. I'm pretty sure I must have contracted typhoid in India because Kathmandu is so touristy and the restaurants are much cleaner than most places we ate in India. Also, it takes 1-3 weeks for the fever to manifest itself and that puts me in India at the time of contamination.
We're sad we had to cancel our only chance to see the countryside and something other than Kathmandu. On the other hand, I keep thinking about what an event it would have been to have had me airlifted to a hospital during the trek.
I go for a check-up on Tuesday and we leave on Wednesday for Bangkok. As usual, we'll keep you posted.
tothesea,
k&m
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
magi the nepali
Magi is tickled pink to be thought of as Nepali. People have said things to her in Nepali on the street and there have been many occasions where people in shops and restaurants have told her she looks like she's a local. It's neat to blend in when everywhere else you are such an outsider (of course, acting like she is a local to avoid touts only works when she is not walking with me!)
We took a stroll down to Freak Street this morning, taking a break for thanthuk and momos along the way. Freak Street is the place in Kathmandu where hippies used to come and tune out. It hit it's peak in the 70's though and now Thamel is where the majority of the travellers are. The Freak Street area is heavily sprinkled with temples that are each very unique in some way. We're going to head back there one day soon and learn more about the buildings we saw. Today we were just kind of walking through and gawking at the scenery.
Planning a trip to Nepal in September was probably not the best timing. It's great to travel in the off-season if you want to escape hordes of travellers, but there are some places where it doesn't make much sense to travel unless it's the high season. The beaches of Goa is one example, and Nepal is another if you come expecting to do any trekking. The monsoon here is very slight this year but it still does not provide a great opportunity for a medium or long trek. So, we have decided to take only a short trek around the Kathmandu Valley. We will have our own Sherpa guide, a porter to carry our bags, and all food and accomodation taken care of. It is quite a departure from what I imagined trekking to be.
We originally planned for 20 days here but due to the weather, we have cut it down to 11. Today we changed our flights and will be leaving Kathmandu on September 11th. Perhaps because we were in NYC last year we find the travel date makes us a bit wary. Therefore, we tried first for the 9th or the 10th but neither day had seats available.
As for my aunt Mary-lou's question about the critters: we haven't really had a bug problem anywhere. The odd time there will be a cockroach in the bathroom when one of us goes in there in the middle of the night but that's about it. The mosquitoes haven't even been that bad though the ones we have met with are highly evolved and excellent at alluding and biting humans. We've probably seen more ants than anything: ants in the sugar dish, ants under the cap of the pop bottle, ants struggling to carry a piece of dropped granola bar up a wall....
tothesea,
k&m
We took a stroll down to Freak Street this morning, taking a break for thanthuk and momos along the way. Freak Street is the place in Kathmandu where hippies used to come and tune out. It hit it's peak in the 70's though and now Thamel is where the majority of the travellers are. The Freak Street area is heavily sprinkled with temples that are each very unique in some way. We're going to head back there one day soon and learn more about the buildings we saw. Today we were just kind of walking through and gawking at the scenery.
Planning a trip to Nepal in September was probably not the best timing. It's great to travel in the off-season if you want to escape hordes of travellers, but there are some places where it doesn't make much sense to travel unless it's the high season. The beaches of Goa is one example, and Nepal is another if you come expecting to do any trekking. The monsoon here is very slight this year but it still does not provide a great opportunity for a medium or long trek. So, we have decided to take only a short trek around the Kathmandu Valley. We will have our own Sherpa guide, a porter to carry our bags, and all food and accomodation taken care of. It is quite a departure from what I imagined trekking to be.
We originally planned for 20 days here but due to the weather, we have cut it down to 11. Today we changed our flights and will be leaving Kathmandu on September 11th. Perhaps because we were in NYC last year we find the travel date makes us a bit wary. Therefore, we tried first for the 9th or the 10th but neither day had seats available.
As for my aunt Mary-lou's question about the critters: we haven't really had a bug problem anywhere. The odd time there will be a cockroach in the bathroom when one of us goes in there in the middle of the night but that's about it. The mosquitoes haven't even been that bad though the ones we have met with are highly evolved and excellent at alluding and biting humans. We've probably seen more ants than anything: ants in the sugar dish, ants under the cap of the pop bottle, ants struggling to carry a piece of dropped granola bar up a wall....
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, September 01, 2002
set your clocks 15 minutes ahead, we're now in Nepal
We have arrived in Nepal. Flying over the land this morning was one of the most memorable parts of this trip so far. The green was so incredible. The rolling hills, high peaks, and valleys were dotted with homes and rice terraces.
Our day began early with a short trip to the airport. After we hailed the rickshaw and settled into it we asked the driver to turn on the meter. When he refused and insisted instead that the trip would cost us Rs. 130, Magi (or her amazing stunt-double!?) jumped out of the moving vehicle and grabbed at his shirt instructing him to STOP! It was quite a scene to behold and afterwards we got quite a chuckle out of the event. The wallah did succumb and set the meter. The trip ended up costing Rs. 60.
Magi's second saucy event of the day was when we were in the immigration line at the Bangalore airport. An Indian man in CHiPs shades and a light brown jumpsuit ignored the line that we had all formed and decided that he should be ahead of us. This is a standard occurence in India, one that you get annoyed by, but learn to ignore. Magi didn't. She tapped the man on the shoulder and instructed him to the back of the line. He meekly apologized and moved to another line altogether.
Clearly, Magi had had enough of India. So had I. It really was time for us to move on.
Kathmandu has become a very warm welcoming hug. We settled in to the most comfortable room of the whole trip and went out for some nourishing and delicious Tibetan food. Momos and thanthuk; two things I swear I could eat every day of my remaining life and never get tired of. We walked, open-jawed, along the twisty roads of the neighbourhood where we are staying, Thamel, admiring the scenery and getting a feel for this city.
Aaron has finished his meditation retreat and discusses the trying and compelling ordeal in his latest posting... click there if you haven't already been keeping up with his travels and if you're interested in doing so.
I pity the fool who messes with Magi.
tothesea,
k&m
Our day began early with a short trip to the airport. After we hailed the rickshaw and settled into it we asked the driver to turn on the meter. When he refused and insisted instead that the trip would cost us Rs. 130, Magi (or her amazing stunt-double!?) jumped out of the moving vehicle and grabbed at his shirt instructing him to STOP! It was quite a scene to behold and afterwards we got quite a chuckle out of the event. The wallah did succumb and set the meter. The trip ended up costing Rs. 60.
Magi's second saucy event of the day was when we were in the immigration line at the Bangalore airport. An Indian man in CHiPs shades and a light brown jumpsuit ignored the line that we had all formed and decided that he should be ahead of us. This is a standard occurence in India, one that you get annoyed by, but learn to ignore. Magi didn't. She tapped the man on the shoulder and instructed him to the back of the line. He meekly apologized and moved to another line altogether.
Clearly, Magi had had enough of India. So had I. It really was time for us to move on.
Kathmandu has become a very warm welcoming hug. We settled in to the most comfortable room of the whole trip and went out for some nourishing and delicious Tibetan food. Momos and thanthuk; two things I swear I could eat every day of my remaining life and never get tired of. We walked, open-jawed, along the twisty roads of the neighbourhood where we are staying, Thamel, admiring the scenery and getting a feel for this city.
Aaron has finished his meditation retreat and discusses the trying and compelling ordeal in his latest posting... click there if you haven't already been keeping up with his travels and if you're interested in doing so.
I pity the fool who messes with Magi.
tothesea,
k&m
Saturday, August 31, 2002
moo-ving on
It is our last full day in India. We are spending our last day trekking around Bangalore with the help of rickshaws to see what this city is all about. It is touted as the silicon valley of India and is where much of the world's software is written. It is claimed to be the Indian city where the east meets the west and it is probably the most pleasant city we have been to in India. There is plenty of green to enjoy and most of the streets are wide and clean. Yet it is still plagued by atrocious air quality and long and frequent power outages.
This morning we went to the city market which was the best market we have seen in India yet. By "best" I should clarify that I mean it is the closest thing to what I had imagined an Indian market to be. The streets were filled with women sitting behind piles of gleaming fruits and vegetables while people turned bright orange flowers into thick garlands. There was a general sense of chaos as motorcycles, cars, horse-drawn carts, rickshaws, and hyper children manoeuvered around one another. But again, as in the rest of India, the chaos seems to make sense.
Yesterday we went to see opening day of the film Signs, an American blockbuster directed by M. Night Shyamalan, an Indian. In one part of the film, there is a Breaking News headline from Bangalore. At that point, the whole crowd cheered loudly. Then they showed a clip of Bangalore and the big, booming metropolis had been depicted as a dirt road with some villagers walking along it. The crowd broke out into a great, simultaneous laugh. It was a wonderful moment that we may not have been able to appreciate if we weren't here.
We also did some shopping for the first time yesterday. We had been waiting until our last stop so as to not have to carry gifts around in our already-stuffed backpacks. It was great fun to look at all the handicrafts and laugh about carting around the 500 lb. wooden elephant sculpture that we both would love to have. I have to say, the process of buying in India is so typically and uniquely Indian. Nothing here is simple when it involves money and there are always many people involved to do the work of few. It takes at least three steps to buy something here. First, you shop and take the item to one counter to get a bill. Then you take that bill to another counter and pay. After you have paid, you get the bill stamped and take it to a third counter where you get another stamp and finally, get a hold of your package and leave.
Even the steps involved in eating at some Indian places are unique. After the market this morning we went to a restaurant that is very popular with the locals. The waiters wear lungis (male sarongs), are barefoot, and weave in and out of the tables providing each person with a thali meal that had at least 15 parts to it. We waiting outside in line for a while with dozens of others until the place opened at 12.30 and when the doors opened, everyone pushed their way to the payment counter. After paying, we followed the crowd upstairs and were given a number on our receipt. When our number was called, we were ushered into the dining hall where we were directed to our seats. The man instructed us to sit side-by-side at a table with a young Indian couple across from us. They were very friendly and interested and helped us through the courses explaining what it was we were eating (it was all veg). Then, everyone was suddenly done eating and started to leave and make room for the next crowd of hungrys.
A couple of weeks ago we agreed that we would never come back to India. We were just happy to have this one month here. But now, as our time here comes to an end, we talk about where we would visit next time. We can imagine coming back to this place; the country that, for a while, made us think twice about this entire trip. We have learned many lessons about our travelling styles and about ourselves. Indian geography is no longer a giant subcontinental blur to us and we can talk about states and cities as if we have lived here for years. Things that surprised us about India are things we no longer think twice about: like seeing swastikas all over the place (India still uses this ancient symbol as an auspicious one, as if Nazi Germany never happened). We have even begun to employ the side nod that foreigners first interpret as meaning "no" when it means just the opposite. We have also come to understand India in some small way and to appreciate it for being so unique and utterly complex. We have learned the true value of the saying that states that for everything you say about India, the exact opposite is also true.
Wish us a uncancelled flight tomorrow. With your well wishes the next time we write it will be from Nepal.
tothesea,
k&m
This morning we went to the city market which was the best market we have seen in India yet. By "best" I should clarify that I mean it is the closest thing to what I had imagined an Indian market to be. The streets were filled with women sitting behind piles of gleaming fruits and vegetables while people turned bright orange flowers into thick garlands. There was a general sense of chaos as motorcycles, cars, horse-drawn carts, rickshaws, and hyper children manoeuvered around one another. But again, as in the rest of India, the chaos seems to make sense.
Yesterday we went to see opening day of the film Signs, an American blockbuster directed by M. Night Shyamalan, an Indian. In one part of the film, there is a Breaking News headline from Bangalore. At that point, the whole crowd cheered loudly. Then they showed a clip of Bangalore and the big, booming metropolis had been depicted as a dirt road with some villagers walking along it. The crowd broke out into a great, simultaneous laugh. It was a wonderful moment that we may not have been able to appreciate if we weren't here.
We also did some shopping for the first time yesterday. We had been waiting until our last stop so as to not have to carry gifts around in our already-stuffed backpacks. It was great fun to look at all the handicrafts and laugh about carting around the 500 lb. wooden elephant sculpture that we both would love to have. I have to say, the process of buying in India is so typically and uniquely Indian. Nothing here is simple when it involves money and there are always many people involved to do the work of few. It takes at least three steps to buy something here. First, you shop and take the item to one counter to get a bill. Then you take that bill to another counter and pay. After you have paid, you get the bill stamped and take it to a third counter where you get another stamp and finally, get a hold of your package and leave.
Even the steps involved in eating at some Indian places are unique. After the market this morning we went to a restaurant that is very popular with the locals. The waiters wear lungis (male sarongs), are barefoot, and weave in and out of the tables providing each person with a thali meal that had at least 15 parts to it. We waiting outside in line for a while with dozens of others until the place opened at 12.30 and when the doors opened, everyone pushed their way to the payment counter. After paying, we followed the crowd upstairs and were given a number on our receipt. When our number was called, we were ushered into the dining hall where we were directed to our seats. The man instructed us to sit side-by-side at a table with a young Indian couple across from us. They were very friendly and interested and helped us through the courses explaining what it was we were eating (it was all veg). Then, everyone was suddenly done eating and started to leave and make room for the next crowd of hungrys.
A couple of weeks ago we agreed that we would never come back to India. We were just happy to have this one month here. But now, as our time here comes to an end, we talk about where we would visit next time. We can imagine coming back to this place; the country that, for a while, made us think twice about this entire trip. We have learned many lessons about our travelling styles and about ourselves. Indian geography is no longer a giant subcontinental blur to us and we can talk about states and cities as if we have lived here for years. Things that surprised us about India are things we no longer think twice about: like seeing swastikas all over the place (India still uses this ancient symbol as an auspicious one, as if Nazi Germany never happened). We have even begun to employ the side nod that foreigners first interpret as meaning "no" when it means just the opposite. We have also come to understand India in some small way and to appreciate it for being so unique and utterly complex. We have learned the true value of the saying that states that for everything you say about India, the exact opposite is also true.
Wish us a uncancelled flight tomorrow. With your well wishes the next time we write it will be from Nepal.
tothesea,
k&m
Friday, August 30, 2002
no wonder we're never alone
Something to think about.
Canada is 9.9 million square kilometres in size and has a population of 31.5 million people. That means there are 3 people for every square kilometre.
India is 3.2 million square kilometres in size and has over 1 billion people. In India there are 303 people per square kilometre.
Wow.
k&m
Canada is 9.9 million square kilometres in size and has a population of 31.5 million people. That means there are 3 people for every square kilometre.
India is 3.2 million square kilometres in size and has over 1 billion people. In India there are 303 people per square kilometre.
Wow.
k&m
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
sniffing spices in the air.. a walk through Jew Town
Today is a day of transition. We are wandering the streets and taking extended breaks at cafes to bide the time. It's our last few hours in Cochin. Check out time at the guesthouse was noon and our train doesn't leave until tonight at 7.45 p.m. (Fortunately, we don't have to carry our backpacks around because we were allowed to leave them in the common room at the guesthouse.) It's a perfect opportunity to catch up on email, exchange more read books for new ones, and just spend the last day here relaxing and enjoying ourselves.
Yesterday was a multicultural sightseeing event of a day. We strolled by an old Dutch cemetary where some of the earliest settlers here are buried, we drove through a predominately Muslim part of town and saw their beautiful mosque, and we visited our first synagogue! It is in Mattancherry (more commonly known as Jew Town) which is one of the historic centers of the spice trade. Though the current structure dates from 1664, the original was built in 1568. The first Jewish settlers came to this area about 1000 years ago and a few of their ancestors still live here. By a few, I mean a few. The Jewish population has dwindled to a "geriatric group of 14" due to emigration to Mumbai which today, has the largest Jewish community in India. There is no rabbi in town and services are held by the Jewish elders only when "enough people show up" but it was pretty fascinating to see the building. The floor inside was covered with blue and white Cantonese tiles dating from 1762 and hung from the ceiling were more than a dozen 19th-century oil-buring chandeliers.
As an aside (mostly for Trish's interest); after every meal in India you are given a small dish of fennel (or anise) seeds which is sometimes accompanied by small crystal squares of sugar. You are supposed to eat them together as an after-dinner breath freshener and digestive aid (though Trish was most fond of eating just the sugar bits). Yesterday in the spice markets of Jew Town we found sugar-coated anise and happily munched on it for hours last night during a couple of games of Crazy-8s!
Our next, and last, stop in India is Bangalore from where we will catch our flight to Nepal on Sunday. It was no easy feat to get a train ticket to Bangalore since there is one only train there from Cochin each day. When we went there a few days ago to get our tickets, the next eleven days were solidly booked! Our saviour was a once-a-week-on-Wednesday train that luckily had berths available.
India is the only country in the world that continues to expand its rail system (while other countries move towards widening their highways). The rail system here, originally set up by the British Raj, is a very complete and complex network that takes you just about wherever you want to go. In fact, just about everything about India Rail is complex; from filling out the reservation slips to buying a ticket to choosing a seating class. Let me explain. The different classes as far as we understand them are as follows (placed in order from most expensive to least): 1A is an air-conditioned sleeping compartment with two berths, 2A is an a/c sleeping compartment with 4 berths, FC is first class seating (no bed), 3A is an a/c sleeping compartment with 6 berths, Sleeper class is a non a/c sleeper (with 6 berths?), CC is chair car seating (no bed), and finally, II is second class seating (wooden benches shared with many, many people). Each route may have any number of class combinations so that not all classes are available on every train though there is usually a pretty good selection. We typically take 3A for our overnight trips but the train to Bangalore this evening only offers a rather small choice between 2A or II. Since it is an very long ride on an overnight train we opted for the much more pricey 2A class for about $20 each (we have taken II class in the past and it is probably not the place you want to find yourself spending an entire night). It's going to be a little more luxurious than we are used to but it's also going to be nice to have a comfortable ride as our last one in India.
Until Bangalore....
tothesea,
k&m
Yesterday was a multicultural sightseeing event of a day. We strolled by an old Dutch cemetary where some of the earliest settlers here are buried, we drove through a predominately Muslim part of town and saw their beautiful mosque, and we visited our first synagogue! It is in Mattancherry (more commonly known as Jew Town) which is one of the historic centers of the spice trade. Though the current structure dates from 1664, the original was built in 1568. The first Jewish settlers came to this area about 1000 years ago and a few of their ancestors still live here. By a few, I mean a few. The Jewish population has dwindled to a "geriatric group of 14" due to emigration to Mumbai which today, has the largest Jewish community in India. There is no rabbi in town and services are held by the Jewish elders only when "enough people show up" but it was pretty fascinating to see the building. The floor inside was covered with blue and white Cantonese tiles dating from 1762 and hung from the ceiling were more than a dozen 19th-century oil-buring chandeliers.
As an aside (mostly for Trish's interest); after every meal in India you are given a small dish of fennel (or anise) seeds which is sometimes accompanied by small crystal squares of sugar. You are supposed to eat them together as an after-dinner breath freshener and digestive aid (though Trish was most fond of eating just the sugar bits). Yesterday in the spice markets of Jew Town we found sugar-coated anise and happily munched on it for hours last night during a couple of games of Crazy-8s!
Our next, and last, stop in India is Bangalore from where we will catch our flight to Nepal on Sunday. It was no easy feat to get a train ticket to Bangalore since there is one only train there from Cochin each day. When we went there a few days ago to get our tickets, the next eleven days were solidly booked! Our saviour was a once-a-week-on-Wednesday train that luckily had berths available.
India is the only country in the world that continues to expand its rail system (while other countries move towards widening their highways). The rail system here, originally set up by the British Raj, is a very complete and complex network that takes you just about wherever you want to go. In fact, just about everything about India Rail is complex; from filling out the reservation slips to buying a ticket to choosing a seating class. Let me explain. The different classes as far as we understand them are as follows (placed in order from most expensive to least): 1A is an air-conditioned sleeping compartment with two berths, 2A is an a/c sleeping compartment with 4 berths, FC is first class seating (no bed), 3A is an a/c sleeping compartment with 6 berths, Sleeper class is a non a/c sleeper (with 6 berths?), CC is chair car seating (no bed), and finally, II is second class seating (wooden benches shared with many, many people). Each route may have any number of class combinations so that not all classes are available on every train though there is usually a pretty good selection. We typically take 3A for our overnight trips but the train to Bangalore this evening only offers a rather small choice between 2A or II. Since it is an very long ride on an overnight train we opted for the much more pricey 2A class for about $20 each (we have taken II class in the past and it is probably not the place you want to find yourself spending an entire night). It's going to be a little more luxurious than we are used to but it's also going to be nice to have a comfortable ride as our last one in India.
Until Bangalore....
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, August 26, 2002
greased up and ready to go.
It's a hot and sunny afternoon on the Arabian coast. The power has gone out so the fans are off in this little internet cafe that overlooks the dusty street below. I hope the power comes on again soon because my fingers and wrists are sweating like mad! Computers are run on generators so they always work, lucky for us.
We woke up earlier than usual this morning and with our eyes only slightly open, made our way out the door and to a cafe for some liquid stimulant. We had less than a half hour before it was time for our appointments and we wanted to exchange one of our books beforehand. The local book exchange is in a small tourist office room. A friendly man waits there anxious to pass out brochures and literature on Fort Cochin. You simply bring your read book in and exchange it with another book some other traveller has left behind. The books, regardless of condition, are valued the same so there are no rupees involved. It's a change from other places we have been where our books are always valued less than the one we want.
After making the trade; The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy for a book on women's role in Indian society called May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons; A Journey Among the Women of India by Elisabeth Bumiller; we walked along the hot, white road to the Cochin Cultural Center. Both yoga and Ayurvedic massage are important aspects of a Kathakali actor's life so it is not surprising that both these are offered at the center in addition to the nightly performances of Kathakali. We had not experienced an ayurvedic massage before and Krishna had never had a massage outside of North America so we were both in for some surprises.
First off, here is a brief definition of Ayurvedic medicine: Ayurveda is an Indian healing science which is over 5000 years old. It is a holistic health system based on human harmony with nature. Ayurveda is a complete way of life. It is not only about treating sickness - it is based on preventing disease and enhancing health, longevity and vitality. The goal of Ayurveda is to achieve harmony and balance. This is attained without drugs or invasive treatments. A balanced diet, herbal remedies, gentle exercise and physical therapies (such as massage) are the main methods used.
Without passing judgement on whether it was better or worse than a North American massage experience, it was nevertheless unique. Here is how it all went down (I'm taking the liberty of assuming that most of you have, at one point or another, had a professional massage of some sort). We were led into small rooms, not to emerge for another hour. The sunlit room was taken up mostly by a large and heavy brown plastic bed with a small, hard pillow on it. The masseuse said politely, "Take off your clothes" and stood there waiting with a small piece of white cotton in her hands all the while making small talk about our names, our places of residence, which hotel we were staying at.. etc. Once completely naked, she wrapped a thin band of cotton around my waist and then strung a thicker piece of it from the front, between my legs, and to the back. It was, essentially, a loincloth. After I laid on the table, she dribbled a large amount of aromatic (coconut and herb) oil all over my arms, legs, and torso and began the massage (adding plenty more oil as she went along). The technique of massaging in long, fluid strokes is very fast and actually left the masseuse out of breath in the end. Some attention was paid to the spine, the feet, the shoulders, the palms and in the end, a head and face massage was administered with a thicker, pastier oil. After the massage, I was given a bar of Medimix Ayurvedic soap (Magi's absolute favourite) and a small packet of shampoo. Magi's massage ended first so she was showering while I sat there in my oily loincloth talking to my fully-clothed masseuse and Magi's masseuse who had come in from the other room for a chat (it felt just a little awkward!). In a shower that only provided cold water, it was very difficult to get rid of the coat of thick oil that was on my skin but I did my best, wiped a bit more off with the towel, got dressed, and met Magi in the lobby. Overall, it was not as much a relaxing event as it was invigorating. We can both still smell the oils on our skin. We are rubbery and happy.
We had lunch at a very chic little cafe. The set menu consisted of garlic toast, pumpkin soup, and bean & potato salad. It was unusually delicious Western food and we gobbled it up with delight. Tonight we went back to our usual Indian joint and had masala dosas. We finished the day off by reading on the beach and watching the sunset. We were joined by about three hundred Indians, four foreigners, and three dogs.
tothesea,
k&m
We woke up earlier than usual this morning and with our eyes only slightly open, made our way out the door and to a cafe for some liquid stimulant. We had less than a half hour before it was time for our appointments and we wanted to exchange one of our books beforehand. The local book exchange is in a small tourist office room. A friendly man waits there anxious to pass out brochures and literature on Fort Cochin. You simply bring your read book in and exchange it with another book some other traveller has left behind. The books, regardless of condition, are valued the same so there are no rupees involved. It's a change from other places we have been where our books are always valued less than the one we want.
After making the trade; The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy for a book on women's role in Indian society called May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons; A Journey Among the Women of India by Elisabeth Bumiller; we walked along the hot, white road to the Cochin Cultural Center. Both yoga and Ayurvedic massage are important aspects of a Kathakali actor's life so it is not surprising that both these are offered at the center in addition to the nightly performances of Kathakali. We had not experienced an ayurvedic massage before and Krishna had never had a massage outside of North America so we were both in for some surprises.
First off, here is a brief definition of Ayurvedic medicine: Ayurveda is an Indian healing science which is over 5000 years old. It is a holistic health system based on human harmony with nature. Ayurveda is a complete way of life. It is not only about treating sickness - it is based on preventing disease and enhancing health, longevity and vitality. The goal of Ayurveda is to achieve harmony and balance. This is attained without drugs or invasive treatments. A balanced diet, herbal remedies, gentle exercise and physical therapies (such as massage) are the main methods used.
Without passing judgement on whether it was better or worse than a North American massage experience, it was nevertheless unique. Here is how it all went down (I'm taking the liberty of assuming that most of you have, at one point or another, had a professional massage of some sort). We were led into small rooms, not to emerge for another hour. The sunlit room was taken up mostly by a large and heavy brown plastic bed with a small, hard pillow on it. The masseuse said politely, "Take off your clothes" and stood there waiting with a small piece of white cotton in her hands all the while making small talk about our names, our places of residence, which hotel we were staying at.. etc. Once completely naked, she wrapped a thin band of cotton around my waist and then strung a thicker piece of it from the front, between my legs, and to the back. It was, essentially, a loincloth. After I laid on the table, she dribbled a large amount of aromatic (coconut and herb) oil all over my arms, legs, and torso and began the massage (adding plenty more oil as she went along). The technique of massaging in long, fluid strokes is very fast and actually left the masseuse out of breath in the end. Some attention was paid to the spine, the feet, the shoulders, the palms and in the end, a head and face massage was administered with a thicker, pastier oil. After the massage, I was given a bar of Medimix Ayurvedic soap (Magi's absolute favourite) and a small packet of shampoo. Magi's massage ended first so she was showering while I sat there in my oily loincloth talking to my fully-clothed masseuse and Magi's masseuse who had come in from the other room for a chat (it felt just a little awkward!). In a shower that only provided cold water, it was very difficult to get rid of the coat of thick oil that was on my skin but I did my best, wiped a bit more off with the towel, got dressed, and met Magi in the lobby. Overall, it was not as much a relaxing event as it was invigorating. We can both still smell the oils on our skin. We are rubbery and happy.
We had lunch at a very chic little cafe. The set menu consisted of garlic toast, pumpkin soup, and bean & potato salad. It was unusually delicious Western food and we gobbled it up with delight. Tonight we went back to our usual Indian joint and had masala dosas. We finished the day off by reading on the beach and watching the sunset. We were joined by about three hundred Indians, four foreigners, and three dogs.
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, August 25, 2002
meeting turmeric for the first time.
Cochin is, by far, the most beautiful and exciting place we have been in India. Today we took a four-hour afternoon spice and backwater boat tour. It was just us and a British man who was born in Goa. The tour began with our guide taking us down a path through a small village showing us different spices and fruits. It was really interesting to connect with food in that way especially given our North American tendency to not really think about what things look like before they reach our grocery store. Who knew bananas grew upside down!? The part where you start to peel is where it attaches itself to the tree and then grows upwards from there! We smelled the root of a turmeric plant, the leaves of lemon, ginger, arrowroot, and curry plants, saw the cinnamon on a cinnamon tree (it's just the bark), and played with a freshly cracked open nutmeg shell and it's bright red outer coating that is turned into mace. We saw vibrant green chilis growing on their branches and even young peppercorns clustered together on a vine!
We came to the opening where we met with our wiley Indian rowers and then stepped into the dark, heavy boat that took us to the narrow backwaters of Kerala, winding down the water past small villages. The sun was beaming and the wind was warm. After a little while, we pulled onto shore and watched in amazement as one of the rowers put a rope around his ankles and sprung up a coconut tree. He cut down three coconuts and then climbed down where he proceeded to cut them so there was a small hole in the top of each one. Our guide placed a straw inside each hole and we were all invited to drink the juice from our very own coconuts. The clear, watery juice was not as sweet as I had imagined but was refreshing nonetheless. After we drank the juice, the man who had cut them took them back and sliced the coconut in two and carved out a small scoop from the outside of the nut so that we could enjoy the young, fresh pulp inside. We were unexpectedly met by three village boys who smiled and giggled so much that we had to take their photo. The Brit took a photo on his digital camera and the boys were delighted to see themselves on the mini screen of the camera afterwards.
Last night we were excited to attend a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is the signature art associated with Kerala and is hundreds of years old. Since the actors do not speak, the story is told through a very complex language of gestures, facial expressions, and sign language that we came nowhere near even getting a grasp of. In fact, Kathakali actors have to go through six years of training to learn everything involved. Regardless, the night was incredible and it was easy to understand some of the play because of facial expressions. It began with an hour and a half of makeup. The players sat on stage and proceeded to place layer upon layer of colour, design, texture, and shape on their faces (sometimes with the help of others). It's really hard to explain the level of transformation these characters go through so I have included a picture of one character here (two minutes before the performance they put a small seed in their eye that turns the white of the eye red, hence the bloodshot look). The other half of the performance was a brief introduction to the gestures and language of the play and then a very truncated version of one story was performed. Let me explain. A traditional Kathakali play will be held usually inside a Hindu temple (the stories are from great Hindu texts) and will start at sunset and end at sunrise. That's right, one performance is usually 8 or 9 hours long so in our one-hour snippet we were only told one aspect of the story and of course, it was a very dramatic part in which one of the noble characters slays a demon. Understanding it was not a full play, we enjoyed the authenticity of the makeup and the gestures and had a great time overall.
Krishna. That playful and rotund blue god who drools at even the thought of sweets melting in his mouth. He is Mr. Popularity by Hindu god standards and there are thousands of temples in India to worship him (not bad considering there are traditionally estimated to be 333 million Hindu gods and goddesses). My having this name has brought upon a spectrum of reactions that depend mostly on the other person's grasp of English. If the person who I tell my name to knows no English (usually in some formal setting where a form is involved), there is usually no reaction but I would imagine that inside, they are relieved that they can spell my name easily without my having to repeat it or spell it. Otherwise, people are delighted to hear my name is Krishna. I usually get a double-take and a big smile. Of course, I have been asked several times if I am Hindu. After I explain I'm not they will laugh and say, "This is a Hindu name." I spoke with a Hindu woman at some length about Krishna. She said in India it is a common name for girls and boys after I told her that I thought it was only a male name. She explained that when a boy has this name it is pronounced differently, like "Krishan" and when it is a girl, "Krishna" is customary. I continue to enjoy the reactions I get when I tell Indians my name. I always expect a smiling reaction and I am rarely disappointed.
Happily, we have another three nights in Cochin.
(Check out this picture of Chinese fishing nets that were set up in the early days of Cochin by Chinese settlers. They dot the shoreline and are an aesthetic pleasure to behold both when they are in action and not.)
We'll be back soon with more adventures from the sunny, glorious south of India.
tothesea,
k&m
P.S. Small world story. We met a guy who went to school at the University of Manitoba where I did my first two years of uni. He had worked up in Flin Flon after graduation.
We came to the opening where we met with our wiley Indian rowers and then stepped into the dark, heavy boat that took us to the narrow backwaters of Kerala, winding down the water past small villages. The sun was beaming and the wind was warm. After a little while, we pulled onto shore and watched in amazement as one of the rowers put a rope around his ankles and sprung up a coconut tree. He cut down three coconuts and then climbed down where he proceeded to cut them so there was a small hole in the top of each one. Our guide placed a straw inside each hole and we were all invited to drink the juice from our very own coconuts. The clear, watery juice was not as sweet as I had imagined but was refreshing nonetheless. After we drank the juice, the man who had cut them took them back and sliced the coconut in two and carved out a small scoop from the outside of the nut so that we could enjoy the young, fresh pulp inside. We were unexpectedly met by three village boys who smiled and giggled so much that we had to take their photo. The Brit took a photo on his digital camera and the boys were delighted to see themselves on the mini screen of the camera afterwards.
Last night we were excited to attend a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is the signature art associated with Kerala and is hundreds of years old. Since the actors do not speak, the story is told through a very complex language of gestures, facial expressions, and sign language that we came nowhere near even getting a grasp of. In fact, Kathakali actors have to go through six years of training to learn everything involved. Regardless, the night was incredible and it was easy to understand some of the play because of facial expressions. It began with an hour and a half of makeup. The players sat on stage and proceeded to place layer upon layer of colour, design, texture, and shape on their faces (sometimes with the help of others). It's really hard to explain the level of transformation these characters go through so I have included a picture of one character here (two minutes before the performance they put a small seed in their eye that turns the white of the eye red, hence the bloodshot look). The other half of the performance was a brief introduction to the gestures and language of the play and then a very truncated version of one story was performed. Let me explain. A traditional Kathakali play will be held usually inside a Hindu temple (the stories are from great Hindu texts) and will start at sunset and end at sunrise. That's right, one performance is usually 8 or 9 hours long so in our one-hour snippet we were only told one aspect of the story and of course, it was a very dramatic part in which one of the noble characters slays a demon. Understanding it was not a full play, we enjoyed the authenticity of the makeup and the gestures and had a great time overall.
Krishna. That playful and rotund blue god who drools at even the thought of sweets melting in his mouth. He is Mr. Popularity by Hindu god standards and there are thousands of temples in India to worship him (not bad considering there are traditionally estimated to be 333 million Hindu gods and goddesses). My having this name has brought upon a spectrum of reactions that depend mostly on the other person's grasp of English. If the person who I tell my name to knows no English (usually in some formal setting where a form is involved), there is usually no reaction but I would imagine that inside, they are relieved that they can spell my name easily without my having to repeat it or spell it. Otherwise, people are delighted to hear my name is Krishna. I usually get a double-take and a big smile. Of course, I have been asked several times if I am Hindu. After I explain I'm not they will laugh and say, "This is a Hindu name." I spoke with a Hindu woman at some length about Krishna. She said in India it is a common name for girls and boys after I told her that I thought it was only a male name. She explained that when a boy has this name it is pronounced differently, like "Krishan" and when it is a girl, "Krishna" is customary. I continue to enjoy the reactions I get when I tell Indians my name. I always expect a smiling reaction and I am rarely disappointed.
Happily, we have another three nights in Cochin.
(Check out this picture of Chinese fishing nets that were set up in the early days of Cochin by Chinese settlers. They dot the shoreline and are an aesthetic pleasure to behold both when they are in action and not.)
We'll be back soon with more adventures from the sunny, glorious south of India.
tothesea,
k&m
P.S. Small world story. We met a guy who went to school at the University of Manitoba where I did my first two years of uni. He had worked up in Flin Flon after graduation.
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
you say ood-oopi, i say ewe-dippi (and we're both wrong)
After a bum-blistering five hour ride on a government bus, we have arrived at our destination of Udupi (pronounced Oo-de-pee). Most tourists take the more luxurious private buses but so far we have enjoyed our rides on the government buses. They play happy (though very tinny and shrill) Indian music and we get the feeling that we are seeing a real glimpse into Indian life as we weave through tiny towns and in between, watch women work in beautifully bright green rice-paddies amidst clever renditions of scarecrows. Magi is particularly fond of passing by lakes with treed islands and never fails to point out each and every one.
Udupi is famous only for it's Krishna temple celebrating the god's incarnation as a sweets-loving child named Rama Krishna. We are staying in a real swanky place (by accident, it was raining and it was the first place we came across). It's costing us about US $6 so it's definitely a splurge but we're only here for one night. It's made even better that there is an excellent veg restaurant attached to the hotel. We stopped there for some great masala dosas and samosas before heading out for a look around town.
We came Udupi only to see the temple and besides, we needed a stopover between our last stop, Gokarna, and our next stop, Cochin. After being in beach resort towns during the monsoon for nearly a week we have decided that we are no longer interested in seeing beaches. Because the towns are nearly deserted, we were met with many one-item menus in dingy joints that were crawling with bugs. It's really hard to enjoy a meal when you can plainly see cockroaches crawling all over the kitchen. In Gokarna, after one particularly (un)memorable meal watching very scrawny kittens crawl around the restaurant's dirt floor looking for any dropped morsel, we walked home underneath dozens of very large screeching bats flying overhead. It was a very eerie evening.
Slowly, we are getting used to the real India. It makes it easier that we are in the south, where the atmosphere has a sense of calmness and where no one has pestered us for money for several days (though I think the staring is worse here where foreigners must be a real rarity). We have grown to really love the squat toilet though we have switched from the traditional cleaning-with-bucket-of-water method to using trusty toilet paper once again. We have gotten used to very frequent power outages and to weaving between huge cow patties in the street. We're getting used to alternating between just two outfits though we could definitely use a washer someday soon.
Anyway, we only have a few stops left in India. Highly anticipated is our next stop, Cochin, in the state of Kerala (famous for its Ayurvedic massages). We are going to be there for several days. We only have 12 nights left in India (but who's counting right?)
tothesea,
k&m
Udupi is famous only for it's Krishna temple celebrating the god's incarnation as a sweets-loving child named Rama Krishna. We are staying in a real swanky place (by accident, it was raining and it was the first place we came across). It's costing us about US $6 so it's definitely a splurge but we're only here for one night. It's made even better that there is an excellent veg restaurant attached to the hotel. We stopped there for some great masala dosas and samosas before heading out for a look around town.
We came Udupi only to see the temple and besides, we needed a stopover between our last stop, Gokarna, and our next stop, Cochin. After being in beach resort towns during the monsoon for nearly a week we have decided that we are no longer interested in seeing beaches. Because the towns are nearly deserted, we were met with many one-item menus in dingy joints that were crawling with bugs. It's really hard to enjoy a meal when you can plainly see cockroaches crawling all over the kitchen. In Gokarna, after one particularly (un)memorable meal watching very scrawny kittens crawl around the restaurant's dirt floor looking for any dropped morsel, we walked home underneath dozens of very large screeching bats flying overhead. It was a very eerie evening.
Slowly, we are getting used to the real India. It makes it easier that we are in the south, where the atmosphere has a sense of calmness and where no one has pestered us for money for several days (though I think the staring is worse here where foreigners must be a real rarity). We have grown to really love the squat toilet though we have switched from the traditional cleaning-with-bucket-of-water method to using trusty toilet paper once again. We have gotten used to very frequent power outages and to weaving between huge cow patties in the street. We're getting used to alternating between just two outfits though we could definitely use a washer someday soon.
Anyway, we only have a few stops left in India. Highly anticipated is our next stop, Cochin, in the state of Kerala (famous for its Ayurvedic massages). We are going to be there for several days. We only have 12 nights left in India (but who's counting right?)
tothesea,
k&m